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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27018103">Radio Edit</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnotherUsernameIllForget/pseuds/AnotherUsernameIllForget'>AnotherUsernameIllForget</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>But whatever, F/F, Radio Host AU, idk what this is lol</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:53:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>19,238</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27018103</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnotherUsernameIllForget/pseuds/AnotherUsernameIllForget</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>‘Nice to speak to you again, mystery caller. Goodbye.’<br/>‘Goodbye Emma. I hope your day gets better soon!’<br/>‘It already has mystery caller,’ she thought, ‘It already has’</p><p>or</p><p>Emma is a late night radio show host. Alyssa becomes a regular caller to the show. Can I make it any more obvious?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alyssa Greene &amp; Emma Nolan, Alyssa Greene/Emma Nolan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>147</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey guys, this has been rattling round in my brain for a hot second. I don't really know where it came from, but I do have a vague idea of where its going, so we'll see I guess.</p><p>Hope you enjoy!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>You’re listening to 106.7 EDGW FM and up next we’ve got the Late Night Wind Down with Emma Nolan.</em>
</p><p>Emma hurried into the studio as quietly as she could, flashing a quick smile at her producer, Barry. He raised an eyebrow at her in turn and motioned to his watch, to which Emma gave an apologetic shrug, pointing to the coffees she was carrying in a cardboard holder. </p><p>She knew she was late, but technically her show didn’t start for another 5 minutes, so she wasn’t <em>late</em> late. She’d never once missed the start of her show. Not yet anyway. </p><p>She turned her attention to Kevin as she carefully hung her coat up on the back of the studio door. </p><p>He was finishing up his evening show and she could tell how tired he was from the way he was slumped in his chair. You would never know if you were listening to his show though, his bright ‘radio’ voice a complete contrast to his exhausted body language.</p><p>As he signed off and put on his final song, he turned to Emma, making sure his mic was off before he began speaking.</p><p>‘Long night Kev?’ Emma asked with a grin just as Kevin let out a huge yawn.</p><p>‘You could say that,’ he replied, ‘it’s been a long week if I’m honest.’</p><p>He glanced over Emma’s shoulder into the station’s other studio, which at this time of night was used to take phone calls.</p><p>Emma followed his gaze and noticed Shelby sitting at the desk, studiously avoiding Kevin’s gaze.</p><p>‘You guys still haven’t made up yet?’ She asked gently and Kevin shook his head sadly.</p><p>‘I don’t think there’s gonna be any making up if I’m honest,’ he said, standing up and moving to grab his coat. ‘I think it’s really done this time.’</p><p>He stared wistfully into the distance for a second before shaking his head and saying, ‘Anyway, I’ll leave you to it. Have a good show.’</p><p>Emma gave him a mock salute as he left the studio, before turning to Barry.</p><p>‘You’re lucky your show doesn’t need much planning,’ he grumbled, fixing her with a steely gaze that Emma supposed was an attempt at being intimidating.</p><p>‘I know, I’m sorry I was late, it won’t happen again.’ She said hurriedly, wheeling the chair out from behind the desk and getting herself situated behind the microphone. ‘But I did bring coffee!’</p><p>‘You said that the last 10 times’ Barry mumbled under is breath before handing over a sheet of paper containing the night’s schedule, while grabbing his coffee with his free hand.</p><p>The schedule was fairly basic seeing as the station wasn’t too bothered as to what went on during its late night shows. All they required was that Emma kept talking and played some songs and they were usually happy.</p><p>Emma loved it, the freedom to talk about whatever she wanted, and she usually handed the floor over to local callers to see what they wanted to hear or discuss.</p><p>She loved the late night slot in general. She had always been a night owl, and her show allowed her to stay up late and make money from it! It was a win win for her, and it meant that she got to sleep through most of the day as well. </p><p>There was something about being on a different schedule to everyone else that she enjoyed.</p><p>The only item on the itinerary that night was a possible discussion about the new store opening at the mall, but Emma knew that she would be able to push that quite low on the priority list.</p><p>She glanced at the time, noting that she had 2 minutes before she was on air. </p><p>She spun her chair round to face the other studio through the glass that separated it from her, and pressed the button that allowed them to communicate.</p><p>‘How’s it going Shelby?’ She asked, watching as the other woman’s head shot up from her computer screen.</p><p>‘Is he gone?’ She asked, eyes scanning the studio for Kevin, Emma assumed.</p><p>Emma nodded slowly and she saw Shelby sigh.</p><p>‘Thank god,’ she said, ‘word of warning Emma, never date someone you work with. It can get very awkward, very quickly.’</p><p>Emma chuckled, ‘Noted. But honestly Shelby, I’m not even anywhere near the dating thing with anyone, so I may have to start looking at work if I get desperate.'</p><p>She shot Barry a wink and he made a gagging face, to which she responded with a face of mock disappointment.</p><p>She saw Shelby laugh through the glass as she said, ‘have a good show Nolan’</p><p>‘You too Shelby,’ she responded before slipping on her headphones and adjusting her mic. </p><p>Barry began to give her the 5 second countdown and as he reached 1, she cleared her throat and began to speak.</p><p>‘Hello folks and welcome to the Late Night Wind Down with me, Emma Nolan. I’ll be here with you all night, from now until 5am, getting you through those night shifts and overnight drives. As always, on this show we love to hear from you guys, so give us a call on 317-266-9422 and we’ll be sure to get as many people on for a chat as we can. Anyways, let’s kick tonight off with a chill track from Surfaces, here’s Sunday Best, on EDGW FM.’</p><p> </p><p>~ </p><p> </p><p>‘So, our first caller tonight is Nick. How are you doing Nick?’ Emma clicked on the caller’s number on her screen, connecting the call from Shelby into her studio.</p><p>‘I’m good thank you Emma.’</p><p>‘That’s good to hear! Why are you still up at this time of night?’ She asked.</p><p>‘I’m a delivery driver, so I’m driving through the night to get to my next stop.’ Nick replied.</p><p>‘Well, I hope you have a safe rest of your journey. Is there anything we can play for you, or anything you wanna chat about before you go?’ </p><p>‘Um, I was actually just hoping you could play Don’t Stop Believin for me.’ Nick sounded shy, ‘just something to keep me awake on the road.’</p><p>Emma smiled, ‘I take it you aren’t referring to the Glee version?’ She teased.</p><p>‘Any version is good for me!’ Came the reply, and Emma could hear the smile in the caller’s voice.</p><p>‘Okay Nick, well we’ll get that on for you in a sec! Safe driving’ she said, disconnecting the call and passing Nick back to Shelby in the other studio.</p><p>She glanced at Barry to see what he wanted to happen next, and he signalled that there was time for another caller. </p><p>She caught Shelby’s eye as the other woman held up 3 fingers, indicating a new caller on line 3.</p><p>‘Now, let’s see who else we’ve got on the phone tonight.’ She started, clicking on line 3 and waiting for the line to connect.</p><p>‘Hi Emma!’ A bright female voice sounded through the studio, bringing a smile to Emma’s face before she could catch herself.</p><p>She liked it when she got a new caller. She had regulars who would call every week, and it was nice to speak to them, but she also liked the opportunity to speak to someone new every once in a while.</p><p>And she was pretty sure that she had never heard this woman’s voice before.</p><p>‘Hello caller!’ She replied, ‘who are you and what are you doing at the moment?’</p><p>‘I actually couldn’t sleep, so I always turn your show on at night and it usually helps me drift right off.’ the woman replied.</p><p>‘Thanks?’ Emma chuckled, ‘I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not!’</p><p>She hadn’t missed the woman’s apparent dodging of the name question, but she didn’t think much of it. People didn’t want to share the names for all sorts of reasons, and she never pushed them on it.</p><p>‘Oh, no sorry!’ the woman replied, ‘I meant it as a compliment. I think your voice is very soothing.’</p><p>Emma couldn’t help the blush the crept onto her cheeks at the compliment. She couldn’t even see the woman and she was making her blush. She mentally face palmed.</p><p>‘Well, uh, um, thank you very much mystery caller,’ she said, stumbling over her words. </p><p>She caught Barry out of the corner of her eye rolling his eyes and scribbling something on a bit of paper, but she pushed on.</p><p>‘Now, is there anything we can play for you tonight, or anything you want to talk about?’</p><p>‘No, not really,’ the woman replied, ‘I just wanted to call to say thank you for always helping me sleep!’</p><p>Emma felt herself blushing again as she replied, ‘not a problem mystery caller. I hope you drift off soon enough!’</p><p>‘Thanks Emma!,’ the woman responded and before she could help herself Emma was replying,</p><p>‘Sweet dreams.’</p><p>As the call disconnected and whichever song was queued next began to play, Barry slid the bit of paper he’d been writing on earlier across the desk.</p><p>Emma picked it up curiously, wondering what note he could possibly be giving her.</p><p>She unfolded it and immediately shot Barry a look. All he did was give her a thumbs up as she read the words again in Barry’s neat cursive.</p><p>
  <em>Useless lesbian!</em>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p>
  
</p><p>The mystery woman soon became a regular caller on Emma’s show, and honestly, Emma would be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy talking to her.</p><p>On Tuesday the woman had called in to request Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac.</p><p>On Wednesday she’d called in to weigh in on a discussion on what the best Halloween candy was.</p><p>On Thursday she’d called to answer ‘if you were an animal, what animal would you be?’ with a penguin, and on Friday she’d asked Emma, and all of her listeners, what their favourite flower was (which Emma tried, and failed, to brush off as a completely normal question that definitely did not affect her in any way)</p><p>Emma began to feel like she knew the woman, despite having no clue who she was, or what she looked like, and she assumed the other woman liked talking to her. Why else would she ring in to her show every night?</p><p>Emma was disappointed the following Monday when a whole show passed and she didn’t get a chance to speak to the woman.</p><p>She didn’t call in on Tuesday either, and by Wednesday Emma was going through as many callers as she could between songs, just in case the woman had rung in but was stuck on line 10 and could never get through.</p><p>Emma tried not to feel anything about it. After all, it was just some random caller that she’d never met, and probably never would, calling in to a radio show because she had nothing better to be doing at 3 in the morning.</p><p>But she couldn’t help the strange churning she got in her stomach every time she thought about it. She couldn’t quite place the feeling. Was it sadness, or anger, or resentment towards the woman? Was it anger at herself for getting so attached so quickly?</p><p>Or maybe she just missed the nameless woman, missed having someone regular to talk to that she felt like she maybe had a connection with.</p><p>By the following week, she was beginning to give up hope of ever speaking to the woman again. Maybe she’d found another show she liked more on a different channel? Maybe she’d moved away? Maybe her insomnia had been cured?</p><p>These thoughts were still swirling round Emma’s brain as she absentmindedly clicked on line 2, waiting for the call to connect.</p><p>‘Hello there,’ she began, ‘how are you tonight caller?’</p><p>‘Hi Emma!’ came the reply, and her heart skipped a beat when she realised who the voice belonged to. She could feel Barry staring at her and she tried to school her face into a neutral expression, but she could feel it growing redder by the second.</p><p>‘I’m really good, thank you’ continued the woman, ‘how are you?’</p><p>Emma regained her composure enough to answer, ‘I’m good too’</p><p>
  <em>All the better for hearing your voice.</em>
</p><p>She stopped that train of thought before it could wander anywhere else.</p><p>There was a pause on the line, the other woman clearly waiting for her to carry on the conversation, and Emma opened and closed her mouth a few times before settling on how to continue.</p><p>‘Is that our mystery caller I hear?’ she asked.</p><p>‘Well yes, I suppose it is’ the woman replied, a smile in her voice.</p><p>‘Long time, no speak mystery caller! What have you been up to?’</p><p>Emma knew that she should be remaining professional. While she often acknowledged her regular callers, she hardly ever commented on any absences, and she had certainly never asked where they had been.</p><p>She could see Barry shooting her a warning glance from across the room, but she pretended not to notice.</p><p>‘Oh, I’m sorry I haven’t called in a while,’ said the woman, ‘I actually have been sleeping a lot better recently, so I’ve missed you show for the past few days.'</p><p>‘Oh’ was all Emma could muster up as a response.</p><p>‘I-I’m sorry,’ the woman began, ‘I didn’t mean-‘</p><p>‘No, don’t worry about it,’ Emma said, cutting her off, ‘I’m glad that you’re sleeping better.’ She added sincerely.</p><p>‘I hope you haven’t missed me too much,’ the woman said playfully, and Emma was so glad she couldn’t see her, as she felt another blush creep up her cheeks.</p><p>She didn’t quite know how to respond, so she just chuckled and cleared her throat.</p><p>‘Was there anything you wanted to talk about tonight?’</p><p>‘Oh, no actually,’ the woman responded, ‘I just wanted to ring up and let you know where I’d been. Didn’t want you to think I was MIA’</p><p>Emma couldn’t help but feel touched by the gesture. The woman had thought it important to let her know where she’d been. And Emma found herself feeling glad that she had.</p><p>‘Well, thank you mystery caller,’ she replied, ‘I’m glad you did- I would’ve been calling the police if I hadn’t heard from you for another week!’</p><p>She meant it as a joke, but she was surprised to find herself actually reflecting on what she’d said. Maybe she wouldn’t have gone that far, but she thought that maybe, after another week or so, she would’ve been worried.</p><p>Which was just all kinds of strange, because she didn’t even know this woman.</p><p>‘Well, I’m glad you didn’t have to! Goodnight Emma.’</p><p>‘Goodnight caller.’ She said, a smile on her face that didn’t fade until she had finished her show, and was back home in bed.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Emma was not having a good day.</p><p>Her neighbours had been yelling all morning, so she’d only got about 5 hours of sleep, she’d accidentally put a red shirt in with all her white washing, and then, to top it all off, her truck wouldn’t start when she was trying to leave for work.</p><p>Which meant she was actually, officially late for the first time ever. </p><p>And she hadn’t had time to pick up a coffee for Barry.</p><p>She had rung ahead and told him that she was going to be late, but she was still anxious of the fact that she was currently missing the start of her show for the first time in the year she’d been hosting it.</p><p>She practically ran into the studio, stopping only so as not to make any noise when she realised that Shelby was sat in her seat, currently talking to a woman who was an on call emergency vet who’d just treated some kind of farm animal. </p><p>She stood still, listening to Shelby and the caller and trying desperately to control her erratic breathing. </p><p>She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to find Barry, a look of sympathy in his eyes. She opened her mouth to whisper an apology but he stopped her, motioning to Shelby who was leading into the next song. </p><p>As Shelby finished her link and checked the mic was off Emma let out a sigh.</p><p>‘God guys, I’m so so sorry!’ She said quickly, ‘today has just not been my day.’</p><p>Barry gave her a warm smile, ‘don’t worry about it kid, it happens to the best of us.’ He nudged her side, ‘besides, at least this time you had a legitimate excuse for being late.’</p><p>‘Still, I’m so sorry! And thank you Shelby for filling in for me’ </p><p>Shelby stood up from the chair behind the desk.</p><p>‘My pleasure! Watch out Nolan, I’ll be coming for your job next’ </p><p>Emma laughed, ‘you wanna swap? I reckon I’d be quite good at answering phones’</p><p>Shelby rolled her eyes and gave Emma a playful shove as she walked past her, making for the door into the other studio. </p><p>Barry settled back into his seat and Emma took her place behind the microphone, feeling oddly anxious at the thought of having to apologise to her listeners and explain where she’d been.</p><p>‘Emma,’ Barry said, clearly noticing her stress, ‘just breathe, it’s all good!’</p><p>And then, with a nod, he began his countdown until they were back on air. </p><p>‘Hello folks, I hope you’re all doing well tonight. Firstly, yes this is Emma, I did actually make it to work in the end.’ She felt her voice wavering with nerves, but pushed on, ‘y’know it’s funny, my producer Barry is always telling me off for being a little late, and I always tell him I’m always late, but I never miss the start of the show. Well, I guess I can’t say that anymore! Anyways, I’m sorry I wasn’t here for the start of the show, but I’m glad that you were left in the very capable hands of Shelby. I do have an excuse- my car broke down just before I was due to set off for work, so I got held up with that and then had to walk here instead of driving. So that was a whole thing. Anyways, apologies and explanations out of the way, let’s get some music on for you now and then I’ll see who we’ve got on the phone lines, after these messages from our sponsors.’ </p><p>She breathed a sigh of relief as it cut to a commercial break and Barry give her a nod.</p><p>‘Good job kiddo. Now stop worrying so much and just enjoy yourself.’</p><p> </p><p>~ </p><p> </p><p>‘Okay, Shelby is telling me I’ve got someone on line 1. Hello caller?’</p><p>‘Hi Emma’ the familiar voice echoed through the studio, and Emma thought that her day had just got a tiny bit better. </p><p>‘Hello mystery caller’ she replied, ‘I hope your night is going better than mine!’</p><p>The woman on the other end of the line laughed and Emma felt her lips curving into a smile, the sound causing something to spark in her chest.</p><p>‘It’s better now that you’re back on the radio, that’s for sure,’ came the response, and Emma felt her stomach flip, ‘no offense to Shelby of course!’</p><p>‘Couldn’t sleep without my dulcet tones?’ Emma asked, masking the butterflies in her stomach and the subsequent shaking in her voice with a joke.</p><p>‘Well,’ the woman began, ‘I actually was drifting off to sleep when your show first came on, but then you weren’t there and, I don’t know, it sounds weird probably but it woke me up, thinking about where you were. Um, just because you help me get to sleep, not for like, crazy person reasons.’ The woman laughed shyly, and Emma felt her chest grow warm.</p><p>The woman had been worried about her?</p><p>She shook her head. Why was she getting attached to a faceless woman who’s name she didn’t even know? What kind of radio host was she if she fell in love with every female caller she had? </p><p>‘Well, that’s very kind of you, mystery caller’ she replied tentatively, ‘I’m uh, I’m here now though, so hopefully you’ll be able to get back to sleep.’</p><p>There was a pause and Emma rushed out a, ‘Can I get a song on for you?’</p><p>The woman cleared her throat, ‘Actually Emma, I uh, is it okay if I suggest a topic of conversation?’ she said, sounding apprehensive.</p><p>‘Sure!’ Emma replied, her curiosity getting the better of her in regards to what the woman was going to say.</p><p>‘Well, um, it just seemed to me like you weren’t having the best of days so, I don’t know, um, I thought maybe you could get people to call in and tell you what they do to make a bad day better?’ The woman laughed nervously, ‘but only if you think that might be interesting?’</p><p>Emma tried to not blush at the suggestion. Usually this kind of thing would be weird but something about this woman, and the way Emma felt about her, tipped the gesture from weird into caring, and it was doing all kinds of things to Emma’s heart. </p><p>‘You know,’ she began, trying to regain some composure, ‘I actually was having a terrible day, so that would be much appreciated!’</p><p>She thought she heard a quiet ‘oh’ on the end of the line, but she carried on.</p><p>‘So, mystery caller, you start us off! What do you do to make a bad day better?’ </p><p>‘Oh, that’s easy!’ The woman said, ‘I put on my comfiest clothes, grab my fluffiest blanket and my favourite book, make a hot chocolate, and lie on the sofa reading until I feel better.’ </p><p>Emma smiled at the notion, ‘that sounds really nice.’ She replied, ‘thank you for sharing. And thank you for suggesting the topic too!’</p><p>‘No worries,’ the woman replied, ‘thanks for having me on your show again.’</p><p>‘Nice to speak to you again, mystery caller. Goodbye.’</p><p>‘Goodbye Emma. I hope your day gets better soon!’</p><p><em>‘It already has mystery caller</em>,’ she thought, smiling softly, ‘<em>It already has’</em></p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So that was that.</p><p>Let me know what you guys think! I have some plans for the next chapter, but I'd love to know if this is even something y'all want me to continue! Comments and kudos are always appreciated!</p><p>Lots of love, maybe see you soon!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Enter stage left Alyssa Greene</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey pals, I'm back! Sorry for the delay, uni work has been kicking my ass and I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue this, but I'm giving it my best shot!</p><p>Hope you enjoy!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Emma yawned as she placed her last item on the belt, saying a quick hello to the cashier as she moved to the other side of the register. </p><p>She had weekends off, so she tended to try and do normal human activities at normal human times for two days of the week.</p><p>That usually meant grocery shopping on Saturday and then dinner at her gran’s on Sundays. It wasn’t the most exciting schedule by all means, but it worked for her.</p><p>Her mind wandered as she packed her shopping and she found herself thinking about work. Come to think of it, she’d found herself thinking about work a lot more frequently, or at least one aspect of it.</p><p>It would be weird to say that she missed the mystery woman who regularly called in, but in a way she kind of did.</p><p>She often spent time imagining what she looked like, or what her job was, or if she’d ever walked past her in the street. </p><p>She wondered if they would ever meet. It wasn’t likely, seeing as Emma couldn’t exactly ask her out for a coffee on air.</p><p>The woman would probably decline anyway.</p><p>She supposed she could go through the call log at the station and just find the woman’s number, but that would be creepy and wrong and she didn’t think anyone would react well to an unsolicited call from a random radio host that they’d spoken to a few times. </p><p>Emma sighed, shaking her head slightly and pulling herself back to reality enough to pay the cashier and say goodbye quickly.</p><p>No<em>, </em>she thoughtas she exited the store, there was absolutely no way she would ever meet the mystery caller. </p><p>And anyway, if she ever did, it was unlikely the other woman would even-</p><p>‘Excuse me?’ </p><p>Emma was pulled out of her thoughts by a voice from behind her.</p><p>‘Excuse me?’ It said again, and Emma turned slowly, wondering who it was being directed at.</p><p>She was met with a woman about her age striding towards her, waving something in her hand.</p><p>‘Excuse me, sorry!’ The woman said, slightly out of breath, ‘you dropped your card as you were leaving and I didn’t want you to drive off without it.’ </p><p>‘I, uh-‘ all of the coherent thoughts in Emma’s mind disappeared as the woman came to a stop in front of her. </p><p>She had dark curly hair and even darker brown eyes, and a bright smile on her face that made Emma’s heart flutter. And there was something familiar about her that she couldn’t quite place. </p><p>
  <em>Focus Nolan</em>
</p><p>Her eyes stayed fixed on the woman, her mouth open as she tried to find any words that she could string together into some kind of sentence.</p><p>
  <em>Focus on your words, not how pretty the woman standing in front of you is. </em>
</p><p>She was silent for so long that the woman began to look apprehensive.</p><p>‘Is this not...’ the woman began, trailing off as her voice became uncertain.</p><p>‘Oh um, yeh, no, mine’ Emma stuttered out, earning a raised eyebrow from the woman. ‘Mine card. That is, uh. It’s um, it’s my card, yes.’ She finally managed.</p><p>‘Oh, good!’ The woman replied, seeming relieved. </p><p>She handed the card over, Emma trying not to notice the way their fingertips brushed as she took it. </p><p>‘Um, thank you.’ Emma started shyly, ‘I dunno what I would’ve done without that.’</p><p>‘Honestly, it’s not a problem!’ Said the woman, flashing her another smile that made Emma’s face grow hot.</p><p>The two stood for a moment, staring at each other. It felt like the woman was waiting for something, but Emma wasn’t sure what.</p><p>‘Anyway, I should probably-‘</p><p>‘I’m, um Emma-‘</p><p>They both spoke at once, both laughing nervously as they caught themselves.</p><p>‘You go,’ said the woman.</p><p>‘Oh, um, I was just gonna say that, well, I’m Emma.’ Emma said shyly. </p><p>She mentally cursed herself. Why was she introducing herself to a random woman in the middle of the grocery store parking lot? She felt her hands begin to shake so she shoved them into her coat pockets.</p><p>If the woman was surprised by the introduction, she didn’t show it.</p><p>‘Nice to meet you Emma, I’m Alyssa’ she replied, holding her hand out for Emma to shake.</p><p>Emma was again hit with a weird feeling of deja vu, and stood staring at the offered hand for a beat, before taking it in her own.</p><p>Alyssa’s hand felt soft and warm in hers, and she tried desperately to keep the blush she could feel forming from rising up her cheeks.</p><p>She racked her brains desperately for something she could say to carry on the conversation, not quite wanting to say goodbye to the woman yet.</p><p>There was something about her that made Emma feel calm.</p><p>‘Do you, uh,’ she began, ‘can I um- is there anything I can do to thank you?’ </p><p>Alyssa’s eyes went wide, ‘oh no, honestly it’s fine! It was nothing.’ A faint blush coloured her cheeks, and Emma thought it made her look even cuter than she already was.</p><p>‘Coffee’ she blurted out, her brain again grinding to a halt. Barry was right, she was a useless lesbian.</p><p>‘Come again?’ Said Alyssa, a bemused expression on her face. </p><p>‘Do you like it?’ Emma rushed out before realising that she was still not making sense. ‘Sorry, I mean um, can I buy you a coffee or something? Do you like coffee, because if so, I can buy you a coffee to say thank you. A thank you coffee. Or not a coffee if you don’t like coffee. Aaand I’ve said coffee too many times now’</p><p>Alyssa giggled, but not in a way that made Emma feel like she was laughing at her.</p><p>Her face grew hot. God she wished the ground would swallow her up. Where did she even get the idea, or the courage to ask the woman for coffee? </p><p>This Alyssa was going to think she was crazy- inviting her for coffee out of nowhere. Why had she opened her stupid mouth? </p><p>‘Okay,’ Alyssa began, a soft smile on her lips, ‘firstly yes, I do like coffee, thank you for asking.’</p><p>Emma’s eyes remained firmly on her shoes, not wanting to face the rejection that was about to come. At least Alyssa had humoured her before letting her down gently.</p><p>‘And secondly, yes, a coffee would be nice.’</p><p>Emma’s head shot up, meeting Alyssa’s even gaze.</p><p>‘Huh?’ She said plainly. She knew she looked like an idiot, but she wasn’t sure she’d heard Alyssa right. ‘You- you want to get coffee?’</p><p>Alyssa laughed, ‘Well yes, unless you’ve retracted your offer in the past five minutes. Besides, I never turn down a coffee with a cute girl.’ </p><p>Emma felt frozen. What was happening?? Alyssa had accepted her offer for coffee? Alyssa had accepted her offer for coffee and then called her CUTE?? </p><p>She laughed nervously, dipping her head and bringing her hand up to fiddle with the frame of her glasses. </p><p>‘Um, g-great, okay’ she started shakily, ‘um, when- when is good for you?’</p><p>‘This time next week?’ Alyssa offered.</p><p>‘Okay, yup, cool, sure. Where um- where do you wanna go?’</p><p>Alyssa smiled, ‘I know a place. Put your number in and I’ll text you the address.’ </p><p>She handed Emma her phone with the new contact screen open. Emma hoped she couldn’t see how badly her hands were shaking. </p><p>Stuff like this never ever happened to her. And here she was, still in the grocery store car park, now putting her number into the phone of a woman who was way out of her league. </p><p>She knew she had been tired this morning, but had she started hallucinating too? </p><p>She handed the phone back to Alyssa, who offered her a warm smile as she pocketed it.</p><p>‘Well, I should probably head back to my shopping before they start putting it all back,’ she said, nodding her head back in the direction of the store, ‘but it was really nice meeting you Emma. I’ll see you next week.’</p><p>‘Yeah, you too Alyssa’ Emma said with a smile as Alyssa turned and began walking back in the direction of the store.</p><p>‘Oh, and thank you for my card’ she shouted after her. Alyssa raised her hand in a wave before disappearing back through the doors.</p><p>Emma stood where she was a few seconds longer, still trying desperately to process what the hell had just happened. </p><p>Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out, seeing a text from a new number lighting up the screen.</p><p>
  <em>Thanks in advance for the coffee !! Try not to lose your card between now and then, you won’t get out of paying that easily ;).</em>
</p><p>The message was followed by an address of a coffee shop that Emma had never heard of and was signed with an <em>A </em>followed by a coffee cup emoji. </p><p>Emma smiled, saving the number under the same name as the sign off and replying with an, </p><p>
  <em>I’ll try! See you Saturday! E</em>
</p><p>Her phone buzzed again before she could put it away.</p><p>
  <em>Relieved to see you didn’t give me a fake number ;). I’ll see you soon! A</em>
</p><p>She tried to suppress the grin that was threatening to spread across her face as she slipped her phone back into her pocket. </p><p>God she was glad she’d got up early this morning.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Emma pulled up outside the station just as Shelby was getting out of the passenger seat of another car in the car park.</p><p>‘Hey Shelbs,’ Emma began, locking her truck and walking over to the other woman, ‘oh, hey Kaylee’, she continued, noticing that the driver of the car was Kaylee Klein, the station’s local news correspondent. </p><p>Kaylee gave her a quick wave before putting her car in gear and speeding out of the car park faster than Emma thought necessary.</p><p>‘How you doing?’ She asked, turning to Shelby.</p><p>‘Yeah,’ Shelby nodded, ‘I’ve been doing okay. I’ve been um, staying with Kaylee for a bit while Kevin gets his stuff from my apartment, but it hasn’t been too bad really’</p><p>‘I’m glad,’ Emma smiled, ‘and you know you can always come crash with me if you need a place to stay.’</p><p>Shelby gave her a warm smile, ‘I really appreciate that, thanks Em.’</p><p>The two began to walk towards the studio in a comfortable silence.</p><p>‘How was your weekend?’ Shelby asked eventually and Emma felt herself smiling before she could even open her mouth.</p><p>‘It was- it was good’ she managed, her face cracking into a wide smile, ‘I um- I met someone- um, a woman.’</p><p>At this Shelby’s eyebrows raised, but Emma pushed on.</p><p>‘Not- not like that. Like, um, I dropped my card at the store and she gave it back to me. And then I- uh, invited her out for coffee to say thank you and then she, um, well, she called me cute?’ </p><p>‘So it’s like a date then?’</p><p>‘Well, um, no I don’t think so. I’m not sure? Maybe I should text her and clarify?’ Emma thought aloud.</p><p>Shelby stopped in her tracks, ‘Oh god Emma do not, under any circumstances, do that.’ </p><p>Emma laughed as she held open the studio door.</p><p>‘Guess this means you’ve moved on from mystery caller lady then?’ Shelby asked and Emma furrowed her brow.</p><p>‘Moved on?’</p><p>‘Oh c’mon Emma, you totally had a thing for her’ Shelby said playfully, ‘why do you think I always put her straight through to the studio?’</p><p>‘You what- I um, I don’t have any <em>things</em> for any of our callers’ Emma stuttered out, ‘how- how can I have a thing for someone if I’ve never even seen their face anyway?’</p><p>Shelby pulled a face, ‘Don’t ask me Nolan, I’m not the one blushing every time she says something that slightly resembles a compliment.’</p><p>‘Shut up and go and answer some phones,’ Emma said, lightly pushing Shelby towards the door of the studio.</p><p>‘You’ll be sorry when I don’t put her through tonight’ said Shelby with a twinkle in her eye, and Emma tried to ignore the twist she felt in her stomach at the thought of not speaking to the mystery woman that night. </p><p>Instead, she rolled her eyes and pushed open the door to her own studio, hoping that the blush on her cheeks wasn’t as obvious as it felt.</p><p> </p><p>~</p><p> </p><p>‘Okay, thanks Angie, we’ll get that song on for you in a minute! So folks, you heard our caller, tonight we’re talking musical theatre! What’s your favourite musical? Let me know by giving me a call on 317-266-9422 and we’ll get as many of you on the show as possible. Let’s see who we’ve got on the line next’ </p><p>Emma glanced up at Shelby to see the woman already looking directly at her, a smirk on her face. Emma narrowed her eyes at her, before Shelby gave her a wink and put the next call through.</p><p>‘Hello caller’ </p><p>‘Hi Emma,’ came the response in a voice that was becoming all too familiar.</p><p>At least that would explain the look Shelby had given her a few seconds earlier.</p><p>She tried not to feel too relieved that Shelby had only been teasing her earlier, but she couldn’t help the butterflies in her stomach the moment she heard the mystery woman’s voice again.</p><p>‘Mystery caller!’ She exclaimed, ‘how are you tonight?’ </p><p>‘I’m okay,’ the woman replied, ‘still can’t sleep, but at least you’re keeping me company- um, your show I mean- y-your show is keeping me company’</p><p>Emma felt her stomach drop at the slip up, finding herself drifting off into thoughts of actually keeping the woman company on nights when she couldn’t sleep.</p><p>Just the two of them. Together-</p><p>Her eyes went wide and she cut that train of thought off before it could veer off into all sorts of dangerous directions.</p><p>She was at work, she had to stay focused.</p><p>She laughed nervously, ‘I’m glad to hear it.  Now, um, any thoughts on your favourite musical?’</p><p>The line was silent for a moment while the woman thought.</p><p>‘Well, I’ve been lucky enough to see a few on Broadway,’ the woman began and Emma found herself genuinely interested in what she had to say next, ‘my favourite is probably, hmm, probably Waitress? But also Hamilton was amazing- oh, and I also do have a soft spot for Cats, and also maybe- sorry, I’m rambling'</p><p>Emma felt herself smiling as the woman went off on a tangent. She could listen to her talk all night, she thought absentmindedly before trying to backtrack and delete the traitorous thought from her brain. </p><p>‘No, no worries,’ she replied, ‘it’s clear we’ve got a bit of a musical theatre buff here.’</p><p>The woman laughed, ‘Well I wouldn’t go quite that far, but I do enjoy them. Something about the escapism of them, the fact that people just break into song and it’s perfectly normal in their universe.’</p><p>Emma listened intently, finding herself becoming wrapped up in the woman’s words, until she noticed Barry gesturing at her to finish up the conversation.</p><p>They had a strict 2 minute policy on callers and she knew she was pushing it with this woman, but she didn’t have the heart to stop her from talking about something she was obviously passionate about.</p><p>Barry rolled his eyes and scribbled on a piece of paper ‘<em>I will just play the next song’ </em>and it took everything In Emma’s power not to pout at him.</p><p>Luckily, it seemed like the woman had finished, giving Emma an opportunity to interject, ‘Honestly, mystery caller, it’s so nice to hear you talk about something you’re passionate about. Unfortunately, my producer is telling me we have to play the next song, but thank you so much for sharing with us.’</p><p>‘Oh, I’m sorry, did I talk too long?’ the woman asked, a hint of embarrassment in her voice.</p><p>‘No!’ Emma said, a bit too quickly, ‘um, not at all, we just have a bit of a strict time limit here! But it’s been lovely talking to you, as always.’</p><p>‘You too Emma,’ the woman said, and Emma tried to ignore the hint of disappointment she thought she could hear in her voice.</p><p>‘Goodnight’</p><p>‘Goodnight Emma’</p><p> </p><p>~</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Honestly,’ </em>Shelby began as she walked out the door behind Emma, ‘it’s <em>sooo</em> nice to hear you talk about something you’re passionate about.’</p><p>Emma rolled her eyes, ‘Shut up’</p><p>‘Honestly Nolan, if that’s your idea of flirting, I understand where this lack of dates thing is coming from, no offence.’</p><p>Emma gave her an over the top frown, ‘Offence very much taken Gonzales’</p><p>‘I’m sure you’ll get over it,’ Shelby called over her shoulder, walking to what looked like Kaylee’s car again, parked in the corner of the station parking lot.</p><p>Emma walked over to her truck, pulling her phone out of her pocket and checking to see if she had any notifications.</p><p>Usually she didn’t look at her phone during the show, knowing she’d probably get distracted and miss her cue, so sometimes she had a few notifications to get through when she had finished.</p><p>She closed a few Instagram notifications, her eyes being drawn to a text notification at the bottom of the list, and she felt her heart skip a beat.</p><p>It was the A and then coffee cup emoji she had saved Alyssa’s number under, along with a message from her.</p><p>
  <em>Hey, sorry if this is weird but I can’t sleep and just thought I’d see if you were up? Got no one else to chat to at this time, so I thought I might as well try my new acquaintance! Hope you don’t mind. A</em>
</p><p>The message was time stamped 2am and Emma felt a pang of guilt that she hadn’t seen Alyssa’s message sooner. She knew how lonely nights could get, and she would have been more than happy to text with her. </p><p>She shot back a quick message,</p><p>
  <em>So sorry, just seen this as I was actually at work. Hope you got to sleep in the end- you can message me any time, I’m always up! E</em>
</p><p>She hoped that Alyssa understood. </p><p>She pocketed her phone and climbed into the driver’s seat of her truck, trying not to think about the fact that Alyssa had messaged <em>her</em> when she couldn’t sleep. </p><p>And trying not to think about that fact that she wished she’d seen it and messaged back.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p><em>‘</em>Okay then, the worst date you’ve ever been on. Let’s see who we’ve got on line 2’</p><p>‘Hey Emma,’ came the reply and Emma found herself grinning.</p><p>‘Hey mystery caller! Go on then, hit me, what’s the worst date you’ve ever been on?’</p><p>‘Well,’ the woman began, ‘it’s not as exciting as some of the other stories you’ve heard tonight, but my ex did once take me fishing, which was just as muddy and unromantic as it sounds!’</p><p>Emma chuckled, ‘Yikes! Any particular reason why? Was he big on fishing?’</p><p>‘Um, well <em>she</em> had gone a few times, but-‘</p><p>Emma’s brain ground to a halt, tuning out the rest of what the woman had to say, a thousand questions and emotions seeming to pass through her body all at once.</p><p>She could kick herself. Why had she assumed the woman was straight? Why had she, a lesbian, gone for the hetero default and used male pronouns? Had she offended the woman?</p><p>She didn’t seem offended, but she had quite emphatically corrected the pronouns so maybe she <em>was</em> offended? </p><p>Also- the woman was gay?</p><p>Emma’s stomach was doing an Olympic gymnastics routine. The woman, who, despite the fact she had no idea what she looked like or who she was, Emma was developing a crush on, was gay? </p><p>She hurriedly finished the call, not really registering what else the woman was saying. </p><p>All she could think about was getting to the next song, when she could have a drink to stop her mouth from becoming increasingly dry. </p><p>Her mic safely off, she tried to school her breathing, hoping that outwardly she appeared calm. She really didn’t need Barry or Shelby catching on to how she was feeling.</p><p>Her phone lit up with a new notification and she felt her heart lurch. She’d kept it on the desk since the other day when Alyssa texted, but thus far she hadn’t messaged again.</p><p>She snatched it off the desk, trying not to feel disappointed when it was Kaylee’s contact that came up instead.</p><p>She furrowed her brow, wondering why Kaylee was awake at this time, and also why she would be messaging her.</p><p>She opened the message, realising it was group chat with her, Kaylee and Shelby, with a message reading:</p><p>
  <em>BREAKING NEWS, live from Edgewater, Indiana. Emma Nolan’s mystery caller is GAY, I repeat GAY, which means she stands a slightly better chance with her than she did before. No comment from Emma Nolan at this time, but eyewitnesses state that she appears to be in shock.</em>
</p><p>Emma glanced up at Shelby in the next studio, who was also staring at her phone smirking. A few seconds later, a text from her came through.</p><p>
  <em>Eyewitnesses can confirm she seems very excited by this news. I am eyewitnesses x</em>
</p><p>Emma sighed, shaking her head and trying to stop the smile that was playing on her lips. Sometimes she hated her friends. </p><p>
  <em>Eyewitnesses must be wrong then bc I am very cool and collected- and yes, that is my official statement at this time. </em>
</p><p>She shot back, being met almost immediately with a thumbs down emoji from Kaylee and a gif of a Cupid shooting an arrow from Shelby.</p><p>She looked up at the other woman who gave her a shrug and a wink, and made a mental note to get her own back as soon as she could.</p><p>But for now, her mind was too busy swirling with the thoughts of mystery callers and the words of Kaylee’s text.</p><p>
  <em>She stands a slightly better chance with her than she did before. </em>
</p><p>She sighed again. She knew it was just a joke, but honestly, she would be lying if she said a small part of her didn’t wish for it to be true.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Let me know what you think!! Comments and kudos are allwaaayyss appreciated! </p><p>(This chapter was brought to you by the audible gasp I let out when I saw the 0.2 seconds of Alyssa in the Prom movie trailer xox)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Alyssa and Emma go for coffee, and Emma's mystery caller makes a revelation.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey guys, hope you're all doing well!! </p>
<p>Ngl I wrote and rewrote this chapter about 50 times, and I still lowkey am not vibing with it, but I hope you guys enjoy nonetheless!!</p>
<p>Now that I've really sold it to you, happy reading!! Comments and kudos are always always appreciated!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The coffee shop that Alyssa had suggested wasn’t far from Emma’s apartment, but she still made sure to leave early.</p>
<p>Being late for work and Barry was one thing, but being late for a coffee with a woman that she may have a tiny crush on was another.</p>
<p>She arrived and stood outside, peering through the window to try and see if Alyssa was there already.</p>
<p>It looked cosy inside, with big sofas and plants dotted around the tables and she briefly wondered to herself why she’d never visited before.</p>
<p>Guessing that Alyssa wasn’t there yet, she leant against the wall by the door, checking the time on her phone. </p>
<p>
  <em>9.45</em>
</p>
<p>15 minutes. </p>
<p>She felt anxiety bubbling in her chest and suddenly remembered why she was usually late to things. If you’re late, you don’t have time to think about anything else, just the fact that you’re late.</p>
<p>But being early meant that Emma had a whole 15 minutes to psych herself out, and convince herself that this was a terrible idea and she should go home right away.</p>
<p>Her grip was just beginning to tighten on her car keys, all of her previous confidence and resolve crumbling, when she heard a voice from across the street.</p>
<p>She looked up to see Alyssa waving wildly at her, and she couldn’t help the smile that broke out on her face at the sight of the other woman.</p>
<p>Alyssa crossed the road, coming to face Emma and leaning against the wall next to her.</p>
<p>‘Hey!’ She said, a dimple appearing in her cheek as she smiled brightly. Emma found her eyes being drawn to it and felt herself immediately blushing. </p>
<p>‘Hi,’ she responded, trying to calm the nerves rattling round inside her that had been joined by butterflies the minute she’d seen Alyssa. </p>
<p>‘Am I late?’ Alyssa asked, ‘sorry if I left you standing here a while!’</p>
<p>‘Oh, um no it’s okay,’ Emma replied, ‘I was actually early, so no worries.’</p>
<p>‘Aah,’ Alyssa quirked an eyebrow, ‘the ‘always early’ type are you?’</p>
<p>‘Um, not usually actually,’ said Emma, ‘I just wanted to be on time for y-‘</p>
<p>She cut herself off as she realised how weird that sounded. She racked her brains for something to salvage the situation.</p>
<p>‘Because um, because I didn’t want you to think I was standing you up. Well, not standing you up because it’s not like a date or anything but um- sorry I don’t know why I even mentioned a date um, but like I didn’t want you to think I wasn’t coming, because I really did want to come and-‘ she cut herself off again, internally yelling at herself for being so weird. </p>
<p>‘Sorry’ she managed to squeak out as a bemused expression passed over Alyssa’s face. </p>
<p>She didn’t know how the other woman was going to react to her rambling, but she honestly wouldn’t have been shocked if she ran in the opposite direction. </p>
<p>Instead, Alyssa offered her a soft smile. ‘Shall we get this ‘not a date’ underway then,’ she said playfully, ‘after all, someone owes me a coffee!’ </p>
<p> </p>
<p>~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When they’d ordered their drinks and found a table, Emma found herself becoming less anxious. </p>
<p>Alyssa was easy to talk to and always seemed to have something to say to fill any awkward silences, and Emma found herself enjoying herself more than she’d expected to.</p>
<p>It also helped that she found herself being completely caught up in whatever Alyssa was saying, her dark eyes sparkling as she talked animatedly about her job and what kind of things she liked to do in her free time.</p>
<p>There was no denying that Alyssa was beautiful, and every time she threw her head back and laughed, Emma swore her heart was going to beat out of her chest.</p>
<p>‘I’m sorry, by the way,’ Alyssa said suddenly, breaking Emma out of her love-struck daze.</p>
<p>‘Huh?’ Was all she could manage.</p>
<p>‘About that weird text I sent you the other day at like 2am. I have trouble sleeping sometimes and well, I don’t know actually. I don’t usually message strangers and ask if they’re around to talk but, I don’t know, I felt like maybe you would be someone good to talk to’</p>
<p>It was Alyssa’s turn to blush, looking bashfully down at her hands. </p>
<p>This was the first time during their conversation that Alyssa had seemed anything less than self-assured and confident and Emma found that it only made her more endearing.</p>
<p>‘It’s okay,’ she said chuckling, ‘I definitely would’ve talked to you. I don’t think it was weird, um, I think it was kind of nice. That you uh, wanted to talk to me- that you even thought of me in that situation.’</p>
<p>She smiled shyly as Alyssa fixed her with a soft gaze that made her want to melt. </p>
<p>‘I uh, I should be the one saying sorry anyway,’ she continued, ‘if I hadn’t had my phone off at work, I would’ve seen your message and replied.’</p>
<p>‘Not your fault,’ Alyssa replied softly. </p>
<p>There was a pause before she said, ‘I was actually meaning to ask about that- what do you do that has you working so late?’</p>
<p>It was Emma’s turn to become bashful, fiddling with her glasses and staring down at her coffee cup.</p>
<p>‘Oh, um, I’m a radio DJ actually. I have a show on um, EDGW FM, if you’ve ever-‘</p>
<p>‘Wait,’ Alyssa cut her off, ‘you’re not- you’re not Emma as in Emma Nolan?’</p>
<p>Emma chuckled nervously, ‘um yeah, that would be me, I guess.’</p>
<p>Alyssa’s eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open in almost comic shock. </p>
<p>‘Are you serious?’ She said, her voice rising an octave.</p>
<p>‘Um, yeah,’ Emma said, unsure of whether Alyssa’s reaction was a good or a bad one, ‘um, the Late Night Wind Down with Emma Nolan, that’s me.’</p>
<p>There was a beat of silence where Alyssa just gaped at her, and she suddenly felt uncomfortable.</p>
<p>‘Do you, uh, do you know it?’ She asked, trying to fill the silence.</p>
<p>‘Yes, god sorry,’ Alyssa said, shaking her head and snapping out of whatever trance she was in, ‘I listen to it sometimes when I can’t sleep. It- well <em>you</em> I guess, really help me to sleep some nights’.</p>
<p>A light blush tinged her cheeks and Emma found herself blushing along with it. </p>
<p>‘Oh’ was all she could manage to say.</p>
<p>Sure, she’d met listeners before, but usually in passing on the street or in the grocery store, not sat across the table on a ‘not date’. This was a completely new situation.</p>
<p>‘Sorry,’ Alyssa said again, ‘I’m just- it’s just, I never expected you to be- I never expected um, I never expected you to look how you look.’ </p>
<p>Emma raised her eyebrow, ‘is that a good thing or a bad thing? I know some people would say I have a face for radio.’</p>
<p>‘No!’ Alyssa said hurriedly, ‘in fact I’d say the opposite really.’ </p>
<p>Emma fought to hide the redness she could feel creeping up her cheeks, glancing over at Alyssa who was similarly red. </p>
<p>‘I-‘</p>
<p>‘You’re much cuter than I thought’ Alyssa said rapidly before clapping a hand over her mouth.</p>
<p>Emma stared at her in shock, unsure of how to respond.</p>
<p>‘Sorry, I don’t- I don’t know where that came from,’ continued Alyssa, ‘I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, I um-‘ </p>
<p>Emma said nothing, still just staring at Alyssa.</p>
<p>This was the second time she’d called her cute now, and it was becoming increasingly harder for Emma to play it off as just a friendly compliment from an acquaintance.</p>
<p>She felt hot under Alyssa’s gaze and she could practically feel her stomach doing somersaults. </p>
<p>She wanted nothing more than to reach across the table and take Alyssa’s hand and tell her that she was cute too, but she couldn’t quite muster up the courage.</p>
<p>Suddenly, Alyssa’s demeanour seemed to change, her once open expression closing down. Emma found herself missing the sparkle in her eyes.</p>
<p>‘I should um, probably be going,’ Alyssa said, ‘after all of that I- sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. I um, didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Thank you for the coffee, it was- um, it was really nice to meet you Emma.’</p>
<p>Emma’s heart sank. Was this it then? Was she never going to see Alyssa again? The other woman had clearly thought she’d crossed a line that Emma didn’t want her to cross, but she was unsure of how to make it clear to Alyssa that she very much did not mind.</p>
<p>She watched as Alyssa stood up and hurriedly put her coat on, picking up her empty coffee cup to take it back to the bar.</p>
<p>‘Alyssa, wait!’ She said just as the other woman turned to leave.</p>
<p>Something flickered across her face that Emma couldn’t quite place, and she almost bottled it. </p>
<p>Instead, she took a deep breath and stood too, standing at eye level with Alyssa.</p>
<p>‘It’s-its okay.’ She cleared her throat, trying not to let her voice shake, ‘I um, I had a really nice time and well, I- I would be up for doing it again sometime. If um, if that’s something you’d want?’ </p>
<p>She saw Alyssa’s lips turn upwards, relief flooding her face as she turned back to Emma and put her empty cup back on the table.</p>
<p>‘Y-yeah, I actually really would,’ she said nervously, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. Emma tried not to let her eyes be drawn by the movement.</p>
<p>‘Sorry, I thought- I thought I’d completely freaked you out with what I said. I didn’t mean- I would really like to spend some more time with you Emma,’ she said earnestly, and Emma felt her heart skip a beat.</p>
<p>‘Yeah?’ Emma couldn’t help the grin that spread over her face. She suddenly felt more confident than she had in the past hour, ‘I’m sure that can be arranged’</p>
<p>Alyssa grinned at her as she began to collect her coat and bag, ‘I’ll walk out with you.’</p>
<p>Once outside, the two women stood facing each other. </p>
<p>‘Well,’ Alyssa said.</p>
<p>‘Well,’ Emma replied with a smile, ‘I um, I can text you and we can sort something else out?’</p>
<p>Alyssa smiled softly, ‘yeah, I’d really like that. Thanks for, um, not being weird about it.’</p>
<p>Emma smiled back at her before acting on instinct and pulling Alyssa in for a hug. </p>
<p>If the motion took the other woman by surprise, she didn’t show it, wrapping her arms round Emma’s shoulders immediately.</p>
<p>The ends of her curls tickled Emma’s face as she rested it on Alyssa’s shoulder, and she could smell a faint lavender smell that immediately made her feel calm.</p>
<p>The rise and fall of Alyssa’s chest against hers was oddly comforting and she tried not to notice how well they seemed to fit together.</p>
<p>Alyssa pulled back, a gentle smile on her face, and Emma did her best not to melt at the sight, her legs immediately becoming jelly beneath her.</p>
<p>‘I’ll be seeing you then Emma,’ Alyssa said, moving as if to walk away.</p>
<p>‘I look forward to it!’ Emma replied, her cheeks hurting from how much she’d been smiling.</p>
<p>Alyssa turned to go and Emma suddenly grabbed her hand on impulse, turning her back to face her. </p>
<p>‘And for the record,’ she began ‘I uh think you’re cute too!’</p>
<p>Alyssa giggled, her cheeks turning a pretty shade of pink. She gave Emma’s hand a squeeze before turning and walking off down the street, leaving Emma to stare after her in a daze that she never wanted to end.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p><em>@alyssa_greene started following you</em> </p>
<p>Emma grinned at the notification on her phone. It wasn’t a surprise to her that Alyssa had found her Instagram account so easily, it was a public account that she used mainly to post about professional stuff like her show.</p>
<p>But the thought that Alyssa had gone home and decided to follow her made her heart flutter all the same.</p>
<p>She’d never asked Alyssa’s surname, but she felt that Greene suited the woman. </p>
<p>She had a sneaking suspicion that it was going to be a name that would be rattling round her brain a lot more in the coming weeks.</p>
<p>She briefly checked her follower count which sat at a few thousand thanks to the reach of her radio show. She wondered how many of her followers were her regular listeners, and if she’d spoken to any of them recently on air.</p>
<p>She resisted the urge to scroll through them, her brain suddenly filled with thoughts of her mystery caller.</p>
<p>Did the mystery woman follow her? </p>
<p>Emma tried to rack her brains for any new female followers in the last few weeks, but she quickly realised she’d never be able to keep track of them all.</p>
<p>She supposed she could scroll through her followers list, but seeing as the only thing she had to go on was that she was looking for a woman, she knew she would probably be there for some time.</p>
<p>Besides, she had the feeling that maybe, possibly, there was a flicker of something happening with Alyssa. </p>
<p>And so it was definitely time to stop pining over someone she’d never met, and was never likely to meet.</p>
<p>She absentmindedly switched on the radio, the jingle of Dee Dee and Trent’s show filling her apartment. As Emma didn’t work weekends, Dee Dee and Trent usually worked her slot.</p>
<p>She’d never really interacted with them, apart from pleasantries at various work parties and award ceremonies, but she liked their show and would put it on from time to time for a bit of background noise.</p>
<p>They had a section that they did every week called ‘Lover’s Corner’, where people would ring in and tell Dee Dee and Trent, and also they whole of Edgewater about their love lives. </p>
<p>It was way too cringe for Emma, but even she would admit that it was sometimes nice to hear positive stories of love. She hoped that maybe one day she would have something noteworthy enough to share on the show.</p>
<p>She wandered to the kitchen, deciding to make some toast before she went to bed. </p>
<p>She was only half listening to the radio when suddenly something made her stop in her tracks.</p>
<p>Trent had just welcomed a new caller onto the show, and the minute Emma heard her voice, she knew who it was.</p>
<p>Even without the usual ‘hi Emma!’ it was clear that the woman speaking was Emma’s mystery caller.</p>
<p>She moved back to her stereo, bread forgotten on the kitchen side, turning the volume up so she could hear better. </p>
<p>Hearing the woman exchanging pleasantries with Trent made her feel almost jealous.</p>
<p>It was stupid, it was just someone ringing into a radio show, but the woman had made Emma feel like she was special, the only person who could help her fall asleep, and so the fact she was ringing into another show somehow felt like a betrayal.</p>
<p>Emma rolled her eyes at herself, and reminded herself for the thousandth time that she didn’t even have a clue who this woman was or what she looked like.</p>
<p>Still, she was curious to hear what she had to share with Trent. </p>
<p>‘So caller, what tales do you have for tonight’s Lover’s Corner?’ Prompted the host.</p>
<p>Emma heard the woman clear her throat, and she suddenly felt nervous.</p>
<p>‘Well Trent, it’s not the most exciting news I guess, but I feel like I wanted to share it with someone,’ the woman began, ‘I’ve- well I met someone quite by chance the other day and thought nothing of it really.’</p>
<p>‘Uh huh’ said Trent.</p>
<p>‘But I recently got back in contact with them, and honestly I’m so glad I did. They- I don’t know, there’s just something about them that makes me feel warm and light, and I would give anything to be able to hang out with them again.’</p>
<p>Emma tried not to feel the stinging that was currently growing in her chest. </p>
<p>It was just a woman, a random woman she didn’t know. She had no need to feel jealousy or disappointment that this woman had found someone. If anything, she should be happy for her, right? </p>
<p>‘So,’ continued Trent, ‘Is another date on the cards?’</p>
<p>‘Well, I’m not really sure if our last meeting counted as a date. I mean- I guess I counted it as one, but I’m not so sure about them. But, but I hope that next time we can make it more official. Because, well, I think I can see myself really growing to like them.’</p>
<p>The woman finished with a wistful tone to her voice, and Emma rubbed a hand across her face, willing herself to not be so affected by this.</p>
<p>‘That sure sounds sweet!,’ continued Trent, ‘thank you so much for sharing. I hope it all works out for you!’</p>
<p>‘Thanks Trent, me too!’ The woman replied before the call was cut off and Dee Dee introduced the next song.</p>
<p>It was fine. It was all fine. </p>
<p>The mystery caller had found someone and that was fine.</p>
<p>Because Emma had maybe found someone too, which made the whole situation fine, because she no longer needed to even consider the mystery woman as a possibility. Right? </p>
<p>They both could go on with their lives as normal, and Emma, in time would forget all about her. </p>
<p>It was all going to be fine.</p>
<p>But as Emma lay tossing and turning that night, Alyssa’s face mixing with the mystery woman’s voice talking about her potential romance, she found it harder and harder to convince herself that fine was the right word for the situation.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And there we have it! Honestly, I'm not sure how many chapters this is gonna be made up of, but I do have an endpoint in mind, so hang in there!!</p>
<p>Also lets all just suspend our disbelief for a second and accept that maybe possibly Emma could've worked out who her mystery caller was by now, but also then this fic would be about 3 sentences long and I know we all live for the drama. Also we all know lesbians all share one brain cell and unfortunately I think Alyssa was using it this week.</p>
<p>Hope y'all are doing well and staying safe. Let me know what you thought!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Its date #2 and Shelby gives Emma some much needed advice.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hiya pals, I hope you're all doing well! Here I am, back with another chapter for your enjoyment. I've got one more chapter to go after this one, so I hope you enjoy, and I hope this sets you up nicely for the big finale.</p>
<p>As always, do let me know what you think in the comments and all kudos is much appreciated.</p>
<p>I'm aiming to get the final chapter out before the movie comes out on the 11th, mainly so that all the new pals that we're gonna have joining us a) aren't confused as to why I'm updating an old and kinda irrelevant fic and b) aren't confused as to why Emma is wearing glasses </p>
<p>Hope y'all enjoy!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Emma was worried. </p>
<p>Well, maybe worried wasn’t the right word. Concerned? Jealous? She wasn’t sure.</p>
<p>All she knew was that, since hearing her mystery caller talking about her new romance on Dee Dee and Trent’s show, she hadn’t heard a word from her all week. </p>
<p>Which was weird, because she usually called in at least twice a week, often more. </p>
<p>But it was Friday, and Emma’s last show of the week, and she had heard nothing from the woman.</p>
<p>She shouldn’t care, she really shouldn’t.</p>
<p>The woman was probably off having fun with whoever she was seeing now. Which was fine.</p>
<p>It was all fine.</p>
<p>But Emma couldn’t help feeling a twinge of jealousy at the thought that maybe she’d found someone else to help her fall asleep, and she no longer needed Emma. </p>
<p>She knew she was being stupid, but she also had to admit to herself that she’d grown fond of the woman, and she hoped that she was okay, wherever she was. </p>
<p>Besides, her and Alyssa had been texting back and forth all week, and Alyssa was an actual person that Emma knew in real life. </p>
<p>And the more they spoke, the more Emma grew to like Alyssa.</p>
<p>She was warm and kind and funny, and always knew how to cheer Emma up when she was feeling down or tired after a long shift. </p>
<p>They spoke every day, and Emma found herself getting to know Alyssa, despite the fact they’d only met up twice. </p>
<p>She was beyond excited to see her again on Saturday, though she was a little worried that they’d exhausted all of their conversation through their text exchanges. </p>
<p>They’d got into a kind of routine. </p>
<p>Alyssa would text Emma in the morning when she got up for work, and then Emma would reply once she woke up. Then Alyssa would reply on her lunch break, and when she was done with work they would text back and forth until either Alyssa went to sleep, or Emma had to leave for work.</p>
<p>She got into the habit of texting Alyssa goodnight every night, which usually led to Alyssa apologising profusely every day for missing her show. She always pretended to be mock offended, but she would be lying if she said she didn’t find it a little endearing.</p>
<p>A few hours before her Friday show, Emma’s attention was drawn to her phone vibrating on her desk, where it sat in charge.</p>
<p>She walked over to it, smiling as she saw the screen lit up with Alyssa’s name. </p>
<p>She opened the message quickly.</p>
<p>
  <em>So, about tomorrow...</em>
</p>
<p>Emma felt her heart rate increase. She’d quickly learned that Alyssa was one of those ‘why send one text when you can send ten’ kind of people, which was fine in some scenarios, but pretty anxiety inducing in others.</p>
<p>Such as this one.</p>
<p>God, she hoped Alyssa wasn’t about to call the meeting off, or postpone it, or say she was sick, or-</p>
<p>The swirling worry in Emma’s head was cut off by the arrival of another text.</p>
<p>
  <em>Just wanted to clarify </em>
</p>
<p>Emma stared at her screen, watching the typing bubble appearing and disappearing. </p>
<p>Just wanted to clarify what? Why was she taking so long to type? Was she writing a novel? </p>
<p>Her phone vibrated again.</p>
<p>
  <em>Is it another ‘not a date’ orrrr</em>
</p>
<p>Emma felt her cheeks heat up. She thought she knew what Alyssa was suggesting, but she wanted to be sure. And she was definitely way too nervous to ask.</p>
<p>
  <em>or what ??</em>
</p>
<p>She sent back quickly.</p>
<p>
  <em>The opposite of not a date ;)</em>
</p>
<p>Came the response. Emma rolled her eyes. It seemed they were both as stubborn as each other.</p>
<p><em>and that would be</em>...</p>
<p>She sent back, watching as they typing bubble appeared and disappeared again. </p>
<p>A few minutes passed, the bubble periodically appearing, and Emma began to grow nervous.</p>
<p>Had she taken it too far? She thought she’d understood what Alyssa was saying, but maybe she had been wrong? </p>
<p>She put her phone down and ran her hands through her hair, taking off her glasses and wiping them on her shirt just for something to do with all her nervous energy.</p>
<p>Her phone vibrated again and she squinted down at it, before replacing her glasses and reading the text properly.</p>
<p>
  <em>I guess what I’m trying to say is </em>
</p>
<p>Was the response. Luckily this time Emma didn’t have to wait long for the next text. </p>
<p>
  <em>Emma Nolan, will you go on a date with me? </em>
</p>
<p>She couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face as she read and reread the words. </p>
<p>She’d already suspected that that was what Alyssa meant, and while it was already pretty much a given, the confirmation that it was, in fact, a date made her feel lightheaded. </p>
<p>She stood for a moment in a happy daze, clutching her phone to her chest, before realising that she’d left Alyssa on read right after she’d asked an important question. </p>
<p>
  <em>ah i thought we already had one planned for tomorrow ;)</em>
</p>
<p>She shot back, hoping that her humour masked the sheer, and slightly embarrassing excitement that was racing round her body. </p>
<p>
  <em>Shut up, or I’ll make you pay again!</em>
</p>
<p>Came the response from Alyssa, and Emma quickly sent back a broken heart emoji before locking her phone again and placing it back on the desk. </p>
<p>She sat down on her couch slowly, her head still spinning slightly.</p>
<p>She was going on an actual date tomorrow. With Alyssa. </p>
<p>An actual date with an actual woman at an actual coffee shop. This was actually happening</p>
<p>A slow grin spread onto her face, and she was still grinning a few hours later when she walked into work for her final shift of the week.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Emma couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her lips as she saw Alyssa waiting outside the coffee shop.</p>
<p>Her hair was down, curls cascading over her shoulders and she was staring intently at something on her phone, her brow furrowed in concentration. </p>
<p>Emma thought she looked beautiful.</p>
<p>She clutched the bouquet of flowers she was holding a little tighter, the plastic crinkling under her fingers. She took a deep breath before crossing the road and heading towards Alyssa, nerves bubbling inside her.</p>
<p>As she approached, Alyssa looked up from her phone, her face cracking into a grin when she spotted Emma.</p>
<p>As soon as she was close enough, Alyssa pulled Emma into a hug, which she returned somewhat awkwardly, one hand on Alyssa’s back and the other still clutching the flowers.</p>
<p>‘Hey, you!’ Said Alyssa, her breath tickling Emma’s neck and causing a shiver to run down her spine.</p>
<p>‘Hey,’ said Emma, pulling back from the hug and looking down at the flowers in her hand bashfully. ‘Um, these are for you.’</p>
<p>She thrust them towards Alyssa with perhaps a bit too much force, and she hoped that it was enough to mask the shaking of her hand.</p>
<p>Alyssa’s eyes widened as she took in the flowers, reaching a hand out to take them from Emma.</p>
<p>‘How did you know sunflowers were my favourite?’ She asked with a smile.</p>
<p>‘Uh, lucky guess?’ Emma replied, a deep blush colouring her cheeks.</p>
<p>‘Well, thank you Emma, I really appreciate the gesture,’ Alyssa said sincerely. ‘I brought you something too actually.’</p>
<p>She reached into her bag and pulled out a small cactus in a colourful pot, holding it out gently towards Emma.</p>
<p>‘You, uh, didn’t really seem much like a flower person to me, so I got you the next best thing.’ </p>
<p>Emma could feel her cheeks turning an even darker shade of red as she took the cactus from Alyssa, her heart racing as their fingers brushed briefly.</p>
<p>‘Well,’ she began, ‘I have successfully killed many houseplants, so hopefully this little guy will survive me’ </p>
<p>Alyssa laughed and Emma realised how much she’d missed her over the past week.</p>
<p>Which was a weird thing to think, seeing as she’d only really known her properly for a week.</p>
<p>But somehow, it felt like they’d known each other for a lot longer.</p>
<p>‘Shall we,’ said Alyssa, gesturing towards the door of the shop.</p>
<p>Emma nodded, following her in, the bell of the door jingling as they both entered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~ </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Conversation between the two women flowed as smoothly as it had the week before, and soon Emma’s worries of having nothing to talk about had dissipated.</p>
<p>She’d been so caught up in a discussion about favourite childhood movies that she’d forgotten all about her coffee, and it was cold by the time she took her next sip.</p>
<p>She didn’t mind though. She’d take talking to Alyssa over coffee any day, even if it was really great coffee.</p>
<p>During a lull in the conversation, Alyssa grew quiet, fiddling with her hands in her lap.</p>
<p>Before Emma could ask her if she was okay, she opened her mouth as if to speak again.</p>
<p>‘I um- I,’ she began, glancing up at Emma and then quickly back down to her hands,’ I wanted to um, say sorry again for last week. I- I know I was very forward and I’m sorry if it made you uncomfortable or-'</p>
<p>‘Hey, Alyssa,’ Emma said, cutting her off, ‘it’s all good, you didn’t make me uncomfortable at all’ </p>
<p>The other woman looked up at this, and Emma caught her eye, trying to pour reassurance into her gaze.</p>
<p>It seemed to work, as Alyssa physically relaxing across from her, her hands coming to rest on the table, rather than tangling in her lap.</p>
<p>‘Okay,’ she said, sounding relieved, ‘I guess it’s just- well, I grew up in a small town where no one was really out, and so I felt like I couldn’t be myself for a very long time. And then, I guess as soon as I came out I decided that I was tired of hiding. And so now I try and take every opportunity I can to be myself, and well, I guess shoot my shot, which I know can come across a little forward sometimes.’</p>
<p>A faint blush coloured her cheeks, and Emma found her legs turning to jelly. She was glad she was sitting down.</p>
<p>It shouldn’t have been a surprise to Emma that Alyssa was gay. She basically asked her out on a date, and flirted with her since the moment they’d met, but something about the confirmation made Emma’s heart go into overdrive.</p>
<p>‘I um, I totally get the small town thing,’ she said, ignoring the butterflies blooming in her stomach, ‘I was the only out gay kid in my whole school during high school so, well, you can imagine how well that went down’ </p>
<p>Alyssa looked at her with sad eyes, ‘Yeah, I can’t imagine what it was like for you. I- I was too afraid to come out in high school. I was on the cheer squad and I was head of the student council and valedictorian and my mom had so many expectations for me that just didn’t align with who I really was. I- I didn’t want to let her down, but sometimes I feel that by not being me, I was letting myself down instead.’ </p>
<p>She sighed, ‘also she wasn’t very um, big on the whole gay thing, so that’s wasn’t ideal, but um, I think she’s slowly coming around. Its still hard sometimes but, I don’t know, I hope in the future she’ll realise she’s happy with who I am.’ </p>
<p>Emma gave her a soft smile, ‘yup, I feel the parent thing too’</p>
<p>‘Your parents aren’t a big fan of the gays either?’ Alyssa asked with a smile.</p>
<p>‘Oh definitely not,’ Emma laughed, ‘judging from the fact that they kicked me out as soon as I came out, and I haven’t spoken to them since-‘</p>
<p>She trailed off. She wasn’t sure why she was telling Alyssa this, but she felt like she could trust her already, and she wanted Alyssa to know that she could trust her too.</p>
<p>‘Oh god,’ Alyssa said, her eyes wide. She reached her hand over the table tentatively, setting it gently on top of Emma’s. Emma tried not to react, her whole arm vibrating with goosebumps as soon as Alyssa made contact.</p>
<p>‘I’m so sorry Emma.’ She continued, ‘God, now I feel awful for complaining about my situation when yours seems 100 times worse! How old were you? Where did you go?’ </p>
<p>Emma chuckled, ‘it’s alright, I got over it a long time ago. I think my life is better without them anyways. It happened when I was 16, so it’s very much in the past now. I ended up moving in with my gran after they kicked me out. She’d always supported me, and she didn’t care who I wanted to date, which was honestly the best feeling in the world. I don’t know what I would’ve done without her.’</p>
<p>Alyssa smiled gently, ‘She sounds like an amazing woman.’</p>
<p>‘Oh, she is’ replied Emma proudly, ‘maybe uh, maybe you can meet her someday? If- if you stick around that is. Obviously um, you don’t have to meet her or um ever see me again or like- sorry maybe that was weird, I probably shouldn’t have said that.’</p>
<p>Emma mentally cursed herself for even mentioning Alyssa meeting her gran. Who talks about meeting the parents on a first date? God, Alyssa probably thought she was so weird.</p>
<p>Alyssa studied her for a minute, and she began to fear the worst, until the other woman began to speak.</p>
<p>‘No, I understand what you’re saying. She’s an important part of your life! I’d love to maybe meet her one day! </p>
<p>There was a beat before she added with a grin, ‘You’re not getting rid of me that easily Emma Nolan!’ </p>
<p> </p>
<p>~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>‘Do you have anywhere you need to be or-uh, would you maybe wanna spend some more time together?’ Emma said nervously as they exited the coffee shop, ‘we could um- walk round the park or something or um, have a look in the shops, or...’</p>
<p>She trailed off, shyly meeting Alyssa’s gaze. Alyssa smiled at her softly, the sunlight reflcting in her eyes and making them sparkle, ‘I would love that’ she replied, ‘the park sounds good?’</p>
<p>Relief flooded Emma’s body as they started walking towards the park. She still couldn’t believe that she was on an actual date with Alyssa, and now Alyssa wanted to spend more time with her? She must be dreaming.</p>
<p>They walked together in a comfortable silence, both content to take a break from talking. </p>
<p>Emma blushed as their shoulders knocked together, and she chanced a glance down towards where Alyssa’s hand was swinging, dangerously close to hers.</p>
<p>If she just moved slightly to the side, their hands would brush and maybe...</p>
<p>Nerves swelled in Emma’s stomach at the thought. Could she hold Alyssa’s hand? Was it too soon? It was okay right? </p>
<p>God, she really wanted to hold Alyssa’s hand.</p>
<p>Mustering all the courage she had left within her, she cautiously inched her hand towards Alyssa’s, her gaze remaining straight ahead. </p>
<p>She felt the other woman’s fingers brush her own, sending a jolt up her arm, and she used this nervous energy to slowly lace her fingers with Alyssa’s.</p>
<p>Alyssa’s hand was warm and soft, and the moment their palms touched, Emma felt goosebumps over her whole body.</p>
<p>When Alyssa didn’t pull away, Emma glanced nervously to her side.</p>
<p>Alyssa was already looking at her, a shy smile on her face, and a faint blush on her cheeks. </p>
<p>Emma cleared her throat, ‘Is-is this okay?’ She asked in a whisper, not sure if Alyssa could even hear her.</p>
<p>Alyssa looked down at her feet bashfully before looking back up at Emma, ‘It’s perfect’ she said, biting her lip. </p>
<p>For the first time, Emma let her eyes be drawn to the movement, her focus shifting to Alyssa’s lips. </p>
<p>She had really great lips.</p>
<p>She let herself wonder for a second, what they would feel like against hers, before realising that she’d probably been staring for too long and snapping her attention back to Alyssa’s eyes.</p>
<p>She rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment, the deepening blush on Alyssa’s cheeks suggesting that she’d been caught in the act. Not that Alyssa seemed to mind.</p>
<p>Emma couldn’t look away from her. It was like she was hypnotised, falling into the deep brown of her eyes over and over again. </p>
<p>It took Alyssa yanking her out of the way by her arm to narrowly avoid walking into a lamppost to break her out of her daze, both women laughing as Emma’s cheeks turned an embarrassed shade of red.</p>
<p>‘Watch out Em,’ was all Alyssa offered, ‘can’t have you falling for me quite yet!’</p>
<p>She winked as Emma’s mouth dropped open, and then threw her head back and laughed. </p>
<p>Emma was transfixed. And as Alyssa lightly tugged on her hand, leading her in the direction of the park, a distant thought echoed in her brain. </p>
<p>
  <em>Maybe I already have.</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p><em>‘</em>How are you doing Em?’ Asked Shelby as Emma passed her studio, cup of coffee in hand, during one of the song breaks.</p>
<p>‘Yeah, I’m good’ she replied, images of her Saturday spent with Alyssa flashing through her mind.</p>
<p>‘You look- you look happy’ Shelby continued, ‘I’m glad. I’m guessing this must be down to your mystery woman?’, she said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.</p>
<p>Emma frowned, ‘The caller? No I- I haven’t heard from her in nearly 2 weeks. Why would-‘</p>
<p>‘No idiot, obviously not her,’ Shelby said, rolling her eyes, ‘I answer the phones remember, I would know if she’d called.’ </p>
<p>‘Oh, right yeah,’ Emma said, playing with the handle of her mug and suddenly feeling embarrassed.</p>
<p>‘God, seems like you’ve still got it bad for her,’ Shelby continued, ‘I meant your grocery store saviour woman, but if you’re still stuck on mystery caller, I’m guessing nothing ever happened with her?’</p>
<p>‘No I- things are good with her. We um, well we went for that coffee last weekend on a kinda ‘not date’ and then this weekend we went back on a ‘date date’.’ She felt her cheeks begin to flush.</p>
<p>‘Wait, hold up,’ said Shelby, her eyes going wide, ‘you guys have been on two dates already?’</p>
<p>‘Well no actually only-‘</p>
<p>‘Don’t give me that bullshit Nolan, you go for coffee with someone you have a romantic interest in- that’s a date’</p>
<p>Emma glared at her.</p>
<p>‘Wait, you do actually like her right?’ Shelby continued.</p>
<p>‘Of- of course I do.’ Emma replied quickly, before letting images of Alyssa flash through her mind.</p>
<p>Alyssa laughing at her own joke, Alyssa looking down at her phone, brow furrowed in concentration, Alyssa lit from behind by the sun, the light forming a halo-like glow behind her curls, Alyssa’s hand warm in hers, a shy smile on her face.</p>
<p>‘I really do.’</p>
<p>Shelby grinned, ‘Sooooo, how far have you guys gone then?’</p>
<p>‘Um, we went to the park as well as the coffee shop?’ Emma said, confusion evident in her voice.</p>
<p>‘Ugh,’ Shelby groaned, ‘no, like how far have you gone intimacy wise. Like, have you slept together etc etc.’</p>
<p>Emma’s eyes went wide, ‘Oh no, no nothing like that. We um, I think we’re taking it slow.’</p>
<p>‘Fair enough,’ said Shelby with a nod, ‘at least tell me you’ve kissed her.’</p>
<p>‘Uh, no? Not yet,’ Emma replied, ‘we um, we held hands the other day.’</p>
<p>‘Oh Jesus,’ Shelby said, dropping her head into her hands, ‘what kind of lesbian slow burn period drama is this??’ </p>
<p>Emma shrugged, ‘I just- I don’t want to do anything too soon and make her uncomfortable.’</p>
<p>Shelby sighed again, ‘Look Emma, of course it’s okay to take things at your own pace. It’s just- don’t waste an opportunity for something really good just because you’re scared that something won’t work out.’</p>
<p>‘I guess...’</p>
<p>‘You said you like her, right?’ Shelby asked.</p>
<p>‘Yeah,’ said Emma, a small smile playing across her lips.</p>
<p>‘And you felt good holding her hand?’</p>
<p>‘Yeah, really good.’</p>
<p>‘And if she kissed you, would you be uncomfortable?’</p>
<p>‘Definitely not’</p>
<p>‘And do you think she would be uncomfortable if you kissed her’</p>
<p>‘I- I don’t think so?’</p>
<p>‘Well,’ Shelby said triumphantly, ‘I think we have our answer.’</p>
<p>‘What?’</p>
<p>‘Look Em, I’m not telling you to force yourself on her, or do anything to make you or her uncomfortable. But also, if it’s something that you want, you’ve got to take the opportunity while it’s still around. What’s the worst that can happen? She sees you leaning in and asks you to stop? Sure, a bit embarrassing but, I think, if you’re feeling it, it means she must be sending you some kinda vibes that she’s feeling it too.’</p>
<p>‘I- I guess’ </p>
<p>‘Don’t guess Nolan, just do!’ Shelby finished, ‘and don’t forget to text me immediately after to tell me all about it!’</p>
<p>‘Shel, I don’t think-‘</p>
<p>‘Oh look,’ said Shelby suddenly, cutting off Emma’s train of thought, ‘Barry wants you back in the studio, I’ll talk to you later.’</p>
<p>And with that, Shelby unceremoniously shoved Emma in the direction of the studio with a wink,  a million thoughts of Alyssa and their next steps swirling in her mind.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you all enjoyed!!! Please do let me know what you thought!!</p>
<p>Maybe I have left all the exciting stuff for the last chapter, and maybe it was an accident, but I hope you guys will stick with me, and I'll be able to write you a good ending!</p>
<p>Catch ya later!!</p>
<p>(For real tho why does movie Emma not have glasses?? How am I supposed to write anything where Emma is not wearing glasses??????)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The identity of the mystery caller is revealed </p><p>(which comes as a surprise to literally no one but Emma)</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here we go pals, the final chapter!!! Its a lil longer than the others have been, mainly bc I had to fit in all the fun stuff I had planned!! I hope you enjoy and I hope that the ending lives up to the rest of the story.</p><p>Thank you all so much for your comments and kudos, they are all so much appreciated, and I would love to know what you thought of the ending!!</p><p>CW for some bad language from about the halfway point!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Inviting Alyssa over to her apartment before work had seemed like a good idea to Emma at the time.</p><p>Hell, it had seemed like a good idea that day as they’d sat together and eaten dinner, chatting endlessly about their weeks and what they’d been up to.</p><p>But now, sitting on her couch, shoulder to shoulder with Alyssa, their legs tangled as they rested on the coffee table, only half paying attention whatever movie Alyssa had picked, Emma wasn’t so sure it was a good idea anymore.</p><p>This was by far the longest time they’d spent together, and the first time they’d been together in private, rather than in a public space. It was making Emma nervous.</p><p>She really liked Alyssa, like, really liked her.</p><p>She’d been struck by it during dinner, when Alyssa was telling some story about a TV show she’d been watching recently. </p><p>She wished she could’ve been paying more attention, but instead she’d found herself captivated by Alyssa, how her eyes sparkled as she spoke about something she was passionate about, wildly gesticulating with her hands in a way that Emma found endearing.</p><p>And now that she and Alyssa were alone and not talking, it felt like something was hanging in the air between them.</p><p>Alyssa, as if reading Emma’s racing thoughts suddenly turned to her, her face half illuminated by the tv, casting a shadow over one side and making Emma’s heart rate quicken.</p><p>She really was beautiful.</p><p>‘Hey’ Alyssa said softly, a shy smile on her lips.</p><p>She looked down to where Emma’s hand sat between them on the couch, pausing for a moment before carefully reaching down and intertwining their fingers.</p><p>Goosebumps shot up Emma’s arm immediately, and she tried to school her features into something that didn’t give away how much she was freaking out.</p><p>‘I uh, just wanted to say’ Alyssa began, looking down bashfully at their linked fingers as she gently stroked her other hand over the back of Emma’s, ‘that uh- that I’m just really glad you left your card in that store.’</p><p>Emma raised an eyebrow, her cheeks heating up, ‘Yeah?’ She replied.</p><p>There was a beat, where they both just stared at each other, before she added, ‘Me too.’</p><p>Alyssa gaze suddenly dropped to her lips, and she felt a bolt of panic run through her. </p><p>Was this it? Did Alyssa want to kiss her? </p><p>She tried to think back to what Shelby had told her, looking shyly away from Alyssa and adjusting her glasses nervously.</p><p>
  <em>What’s the worst that could happen? </em>
</p><p>Rejection? Embarrassment? Death? She wasn’t sure which one was worse.</p><p>She pushed herself to look back at Alyssa, the other woman’s eyes roaming her face gently as soon as she looked back. </p><p>Before she could stop herself, she found her own gaze dipping to Alyssa’s lips, and it was in that moment that she knew she was a goner. </p><p>There was absolutely nothing in that moment that could stop her from kissing Alyssa Greene. </p><p>So she did.</p><p>She closed the distance between them, hand coming up to cup Alyssa’s cheek as soon as their lips met.</p><p>Alyssa’s lips were warm and soft, softer than Emma had ever imagined them to be, and they seemed to fit perfectly with her own. </p><p>Emma’s brain began to get foggy as soon as Alyssa brought her hand up to tangle in the hair at the back of her neck, and suddenly all she could see and feel and think was Alyssa Greene, over and over and over in her mind. </p><p>She knew she wouldn’t mind only seeing and feeling Alyssa Greene forever.</p><p>She didn’t know how long they kissed for, their lips finding a gentle rhythm that both slowed and quicken Emma’s heart rate at the same time.</p><p>Eventually though, she felt the hand being withdrawn from the back of her neck, and the warm press of lips leave hers.</p><p>She opened her eyes slowly, blinking as they adjusted to the light, everything out of focus for a second.</p><p>The first thing she saw in focus was Alyssa, her eyes wide and her cheeks rosy, a goofy smile playing across her lips. </p><p>Now that she knew what it was like to kiss those lips, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever be able to look away. </p><p>She slowly realised that her mouth was still open, so she slowly closed it, opening it and closing it again as she tried to find the words to explain to Alyssa what exactly that had just meant to her.</p><p>Alyssa cleared her throat, beating her to it, ‘So uh, that was...’</p><p>‘Yeah’ replied Emma, understanding exactly what Alyssa meant as she trailed off. </p><p>‘I um-‘ she tried, her brain grinding to a halt as she tried to form a coherent sentence. </p><p>Alyssa cocked her head to the side, clearly waiting for what Emma was about to say. </p><p>‘That was, uh,’ she tried again, ‘that was- cool’</p><p>She cringed internally as soon as the words left her mouth, clapping a hand over her eyes in embarrassment.</p><p>‘Cool?’ Alyssa giggled.</p><p>‘Oh god no, no not cool, that’s not- ugh’ was all she could manage, her face now bright red, ‘I- I’m sorry that’s so embarrassing.’</p><p>Alyssa laughed again, knocking her shoulder into Emma’s until she looked up at her. </p><p>‘I don’t know, Emma Nolan’ she began, ‘I have to agree, I think that was pretty cool.’ </p><p>Emma rolled her eyes, grateful at the other woman’s attempt to make her less embarrassed.</p><p>‘So cool in fact,’ Alyssa continued, a glimmer in her eye, ‘would you maybe wanna do it again?’</p><p>Emma’s eyes went wide and she found herself nodding vigorously, already leaning in as Alyssa moved to meet her.</p><p>The last thought she had before their lips connected and her mind went blank would rattle around in her head for weeks after.</p><p>
  <em>Very cool. </em>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>‘I absolutely cannot believe this!’ Shelby shouted, Emma’s attempts to calm her down falling on deaf ears.</p><p>‘Can’t believe what?’ Asked Barry, poking his head into Shelby’s studio from the door.</p><p>‘Oh god no, please don’t involve Barry,’ Emma pleaded, as Shelby got an evil glint in her eye.</p><p>‘Well Barry,’ she began, ‘it seems that Nolan here kissed a girl, and may I add liked it, A WEEK AGO, and has only decided to NOW tell me, after they’ve been making out every day since.’</p><p>Emma rolled her eyes, ‘Look Shelby it’s not that big of a-‘</p><p>‘Not that big of a deal? NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL?’ exclaimed Shelby, ‘I gave you one instruction Nolan. I gave you a lovely, gay pep talk and then one simple instruction. ONE! Tell me as soon as it happens. AS. SOON. AS. IT. HAPPENS!’</p><p>She punctuated every word with a clap, and Emma looked desperately at Barry for help. </p><p>The older man shrugged, ‘Sorry kid, you’re on your own.’ he said, ‘And for the record I am also offended that I knew nothing of this new romance.’ </p><p>Emma turned round and pretended to smack her head against the studio glass, groaning as she did so. </p><p>‘Please, do tell me everything.’ He continued.</p><p>Emma said nothing, reasoning that maybe if she ignored them both, they’d go away.</p><p>‘Oh come on!’ Barry exclaimed, ‘at least tell me her name- or I’ll ask Shelby.’</p><p>There was a paused as Emma waited for what was inevitably about to come next.</p><p>‘HANG ON!’ came the shout from Shelby, and Emma braced herself, ‘you’ve never actually told me her name, Nolan.’ </p><p>Emma turned slowly, running a hand through her hair in an attempt to stall before she had to answer.</p><p>She was met with both Barry and Shelby staring at her expectantly.</p><p>‘Look,’ she said, ‘if I tell you her name will you leave me alone about this?’</p><p>There was a pause as the two clearly considered the offer.</p><p>‘Fine,’ said Shelby eventually, with a nod from Barry, ‘but only for now. You can’t hide the details from us for forever.’</p><p>‘Okay, fine, whatever’ replied Emma, relieved that her bargaining had worked for the time being.</p><p>‘Go on then,’ said Barry expectantly, and Emma felt two pairs of eyes pinning her to the wall.</p><p>‘Fine!’ she relented, ‘she’s called Alyssa’</p><p>‘Oooh,’ Shelby exclaimed, immediately pulling out her phone, ‘and what’s her surname?’</p><p>‘Oh no,’ replied Emma, ‘you’re not getting that information today’</p><p>Shelby tapped at her phone for a second before proudly announcing, ‘Alyssa Greene!’</p><p>‘Wha- how did you-‘ Emma spluttered, making to grab for Shelby’s phone as Barry stepped closer to get a better look.</p><p>‘C’mon Nolan, she’s the only Alyssa that you follow on Instagram.’ Shelby said triumphantly, ‘and I gotta say, she <em>is</em> cute! Good job Em!’ </p><p>Emma groaned, watching as Barry stared intently at the screen, oohing and aahing as Shelby scrolled through Alyssa’s profile.</p><p>‘I’m leaving now, bye’ she said loudly, ‘to, y’know, start the radio show that we’re supposed to be doing in 5 minutes.’</p><p>Barry waved a hand at her impatiently, still engrossed in Shelby’s phone, and Emma let out a sigh as she left the room, silently cursing herself for telling her friend about Alyssa in the first place.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>‘Welcome back guys, and hello if you’re just joining us! That was the new one from Hozier, and I don’t know about you guys but I’m really enjoying the new stuff he’s releasing! Anyways, before the song Tom called in and asked if you guys had any good pick up lines that always work for you, so let’s see what our first caller’s got for us! Hello caller!</p><p>‘Hello, hi Emma, it’s great to be talking to you!’</p><p>‘It’s great to be talking to you too caller,’ Emma replied with a smile, ‘what’s your name and how are you doing tonight?’ </p><p>‘I’m Greg and I’m just about to start my night shift as a nurse at the hospital!’ came the reply.</p><p>‘Great stuff Greg!’ Emma responded, adjusting her mic as she sat forward in her chair, ‘now, do you have a pick up line for us?’ </p><p>‘Well I’ve kinda got one, but it’s super cheesy.’</p><p>‘Honestly Greg, on this show, the cheesier the better, let’s hear it!’ </p><p>‘Okay, uh, do you know what my scrubs are made of? Well, its boyfriend material!’</p><p>Emma chuckled, ‘Very nice Greg, very nice. I enjoyed the spin you put on a classic!’</p><p>‘Thanks Emma!’</p><p>‘No worries Greg, thank you so much for calling in! I hope you have a good shift’</p><p>‘Thanks, I’ll be sure to have your show on all night!’</p><p>‘Thanks a lot Greg! Goodbye!’</p><p>‘Bye’</p><p>Emma glanced at the clock on her screen before glancing quickly at Barry who gave her a nod.</p><p>‘Okay folks, it looks like we’ve got time for one more pick up line before the next song, let’s see who Shelby’s got for us on line two’</p><p>Emma looked up as Shelby put the caller through to see her frantically gesticulating and trying to mouth something at her through the studio glass. </p><p>Emma furrowed her brow, trying to indicate to Shelby that she couldn’t understand what she was saying as she greeted the next caller.</p><p>‘Hello line two’ she said brightly.</p><p>‘Hey Emma,’ came the response and Emma suddenly knew exactly why Shelby had been going crazy a few seconds ago.</p><p>It was a voice she hadn’t heard in a few weeks, but she knew exactly who it was the minute they began speaking.</p><p>‘M-mystery caller’ she said shakily, her heart dropping into her shoes.</p><p>‘Yeah, hey! Sorry I haven’t called in in a while!’</p><p>‘No- no worries at all!’ said Emma, aware that her shaky replies were painfully obvious, feeling Barry and Shelby’s eyes boring into her from the other side of the room.</p><p>She swallowed nervously, not particularly wanted to ask the next question, but she did anyway.</p><p>‘So um, mystery caller, do you have uh- sorry, do you have a pick up line for us?’</p><p>She knew she was making a fool out of herself, stumbling over her words live on air, but that shock at hearing the woman’s voice again had completely thrown her off her game. </p><p><em>Alyssa, </em>she thought, <em>think about Alyssa, </em>as the woman replied with a cheerful yes.</p><p>Emma swallowed nervously, taking her glasses off her face and polishing them on her shirt to try and distract herself from what was about to come.</p><p>It was fine, she was totally over this woman, whoever she may be. She had Alyssa now. She didn’t need anyone else.</p><p>Besides, she couldn’t have feelings for someone she’d never even seen. That’s just not how it worked.</p><p>‘Go ahead,’ she managed breathlessly, catching Barry’s eye as he gave her a stern look.</p><p>‘Just before I start as well,’ the woman said playfully, ‘I wanna give some advice to Tom. Honestly, pick up lines are all about the delivery- you really gotta sell it.'</p><p>‘O-okay?’ Replied Emma.</p><p>‘Okay, here goes,’ said the woman, her voice suddenly switching from its usual cheery tone to something deeper and more sultry.</p><p>‘Emma,’ she rasped, Emma’s heart rate quickening and goosebumps racing up her arms, ‘did you say you were feeling a little off today?’</p><p>There was a pause, and Emma wasn’t sure if she was supposed to be answering or not.</p><p>Instead, all she could manage was a strangled sound from the back of her throat, that she hoped sounded enough like an agreement so that the woman would proceed.</p><p>‘Well,’ she continued, voice still low and causing Emma to feel hotter and hotter, ‘don’t worry, I can definitely turn you on.’</p><p>There was a beat of silence where Emma genuinely didn’t know if she was about to combust or die on the spot, blood rushing in her ears, her mouth so dry she didn’t think she’d be able to speak.</p><p>‘How was that?’ Asked the woman, her voice returning to its normal, cheerful self.</p><p>‘Uhh’ was all Emma could manage, looking desperately at Barry for some kind of help as she fanned her face rapidly with her hands in an attempt to cool down.</p><p>She could see Shelby with her hand over her mouth in the other studio, her shoulders rocking with what Emma assumed was silent laughter.</p><p>‘See,’ the woman continued, perhaps sensing Emma’s complete loss of words, ‘I told you it was all in the delivery!’</p><p>‘You uh, you certainly did,’ Emma managed, trying desperately to regain control of her brain. ‘Th-thanks for sharing’</p><p>‘Any time!’ Replied the woman, ‘it’s always great talking to you Emma.’</p><p>‘You- you too!’ Replied Emma, ‘b-bye now’</p><p>‘Bye!’ came the reply, and she quickly linked into the next song, before burying her head in her arms on the desk.</p><p>She looked up at the sound of the vibrating of her phone, picking it up to see a message from Shelby.</p><p><em>oh nolan u r fucked</em> </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>She was fucked. She was so fucked. She had never been more fucked in her life. </p><p>She was considering fucking up the best thing in her life right now for someone she didn’t even know. </p><p>As she walked to the park to meet Alyssa, she tried to decide what to do. </p><p>She could tell Alyssa, let her know about this other woman that had someone stolen part of her heart, but that seemed stupid, and she didn’t want to hurt her.</p><p>But then again, if she didn’t tell her and the woman kept calling, surely then it would make things even more complicated with her feelings. </p><p>She didn’t know what to do.</p><p>She rounded the corner and saw Alyssa, standing patiently by a small bench, and dread began to creep into her chest.</p><p>She would just tell her. Or she just wouldn’t tell her. Because if she told her how would she even go about it and how would Alyssa even react and what would-</p><p>‘Emma, hey!’ Alyssa said, a bright smile painted on her face, dimple appearing on her cheek. </p><p>‘Hey’ Emma said uncertainly as Alyssa pulled her in for a hug, and she tried not to melt as soon as she was in her arms.</p><p><em>See Emma</em>, she thought, <em>this is so much better than having a weird phone relationship with a faceless woman. </em></p><p>The two women broke the hug, Emma making to take a step back before she was stopped by Alyssa’s arms still locked around her neck.</p><p>‘Not so fast,’ Alyssa said with a smile, leaning in and placing a soft kiss to Emma’s lips. </p><p>Emma grinned into the kiss, kissing back softly and allowing herself to get lost in the feeling of Alyssa’s lips on hers.</p><p>She would never get tired of that feeling.</p><p>‘How are you doing?’ Alyssa said eventually, pulling back and linking her hand with Emma’s.</p><p>‘Yeah, yeah I’m okay,’ replied Emma, squeezing Alyssa’s hand softly.</p><p>‘Do you wanna sit?’ asked Alyssa, gesturing towards the bench, ‘I’ve got something to tell you.’</p><p>‘Uh, sure?’ said Emma, confused as to what Alyssa could possibly have to say.</p><p>‘Well,’ Alyssa began as they sat, her hand still in Emma’s and a shy smile on her lips, ‘I was uh, listening to your show last night, and then of course I also-‘</p><p>Panic spiked in Emma’s chest, ‘Wait, you were listening last night?’</p><p>Alyssa looked at her with a look that Emma couldn’t quite place before replying, ‘Yeah, of course, I always try and listen when I can.’</p><p>‘Oh’ said Emma, suddenly worried about what Alyssa was about to say.</p><p>Did she hear her speaking to the mystery woman and want to know why she’d been reduced to an incoherent mess at the woman’s pick up line? </p><p>Was she about to get called out before she’d even had a chance to tell Alyssa herself?</p><p>‘Anyways,’ continued Alyssa, ‘I was listening to your show last night and I was listening to you talk and I was thinking, well, I was thinking how much I’ve grown to like you over the past few weeks. Like, really like you a lot.’</p><p>Emma saw a faint glow spreading over her cheeks, all the panic she had been feeling a second ago fading at the sight of a bashful Alyssa in front of her. </p><p>‘And well,’ Alyssa said quietly, ‘I was uh, I was wondering if, well if maybe, you wanted to be my girlfriend?’ </p><p>Emma’s heart jumped into her throat, as Alyssa looked shyly at her through her eyelashes, and she began nodding emphatically, opening her mouth to reply before her heart sank.</p><p>How could she make things official with Alyssa with the mystery caller still hanging over her head?</p><p>Her face must have fallen, because Alyssa squeezed her hand, looking at her in concern at the change in her demeanour.</p><p>‘Uh, you don’t have to say yes’ she said quickly, clearly thinking that she was about to be rejected, ‘I- I don’t know if maybe it’s too soon but I thought that because we’d kissed and we were getting closer and I just thought-‘</p><p>‘Alyssa, hey,’ said Emma, cutting the other woman off before she spiralled into a whirlwind of apologies, ‘it’s fine, it’s- I want to say yes, I- I really do, but-‘</p><p>‘But what?’ Asked Alyssa softly, her eyes suddenly glassy and her face falling.</p><p>This was it. Emma had to be honest with her if she wanted to have any future at all with Alyssa.</p><p>‘I- I need to tell you something,’ she began, taking a deep breath and trying to prepare herself for however Alyssa would react.</p><p>‘What, you’ve got another woman on the side?’ asked Alyssa with a laugh, clearly trying to make light of the situation.</p><p>When Emma didn’t reply her face fell again.</p><p>‘Wait, you- you do have another woman on the side? I- well I guess we were never exclusive but I just figured- I don’t know. God Emma did I get this whole situation all wrong or-‘</p><p>‘No!’ Said Emma quickly, ‘no it’s not- I just- there is someone else, kind of.’</p><p>‘What do you mean kind of?’ asked Alyssa, removing her hand from Emma’s and placing it carefully back into her own lap.</p><p>‘I uh- there’s a woman who, who’s been calling into my show for a few weeks now. I- I’ve never seen her, I’ve never met her but- oh god this sounds so stupid, I’ve always felt a kind of connection to her, and- and I just don’t think I could forgive myself if I didn’t tell you before we start anything serious and then something happens with her and-‘</p><p>‘Hang on,’ Alyssa cut in, a different edge to her voice, ‘so you’re saying you have feelings for a random woman who rings into your radio show and that’s why you don’t want to make it official with me? Is that right?’</p><p>‘Uh, yeah,’ said Emma, hanging her head in shame.</p><p>‘But do you even know who she is? Like, what’s her name? What does she do? How old is she?’</p><p>‘I- I don’t know. She never told me her name, she- I just refer to her as my mystery caller.’</p><p>A look that Emma couldn’t quite place was reflected in Alyssa’s eyes as she said, ‘And what kind of stuff do you guys talk about?’</p><p>‘Um, well,’ Emma replied, thinking back to their numerous conversations, ‘last night she uh, she told me a pick up line, and uh, she’s told me that I help her sleep sometimes and, um, once she suggested I ask my listeners what they do to make a bad day better, because I was having a bad day.’</p><p>There was a pause as she finished, Alyssa still staring at her with an unreadable expression.</p><p>‘I- I don’t want this to-‘ she cut herself off as Alyssa suddenly stood up from the bench, ‘what are you-‘</p><p>‘Sorry Em,’ Alyssa said with a shake of her head, ‘I just need five minutes to kinda, I don’t know, sort this all out in my head.’</p><p>‘Oh, yeah, of- of course’ Emma stuttered, watching as Alyssa walked briskly off and out of sight round a corner.</p><p>She put her head in her hands, replaying the conversation over and over again in her mind and trying to think about what she could’ve done differently.</p><p>If she could’ve done anything to salvage this relationship.</p><p>She pulled out her phone, checking the time and debating whether to text Shelby and ask her if she did the right thing. Shelby always knew what to do.</p><p>As she opened her text thread with Shelby though, her phone began to ring, the caller ID displaying a blocked number.</p><p>She ignored it, hanging up and beginning to compose her message to Shelby, before her phone started ringing again, with the same blocked number.</p><p>She sighed, staring at the screen a beat longer before deciding to pick up. She would just tell whoever it was, with whatever they were inevitably selling, that she was too busy to talk. Then at least they’d stop calling.</p><p>‘Hello?’ She said, placing the phone up to her ear.</p><p>‘Hi, is that Emma?’ The voice on the other end said, and her heart dropped.</p><p>It was the mystery caller, she was sure of it. </p><p>She knew she would recognise that voice anywhere.</p><p>‘M-mystery caller?’ she said shakily, ‘Is that you?’</p><p>‘Yes,’ came the response, ‘of course it’s me! Couldn’t you recognise my voice?’</p><p>‘Of course,’ she replied quickly, ‘I- I would recognise it anywhere. But, how- how did you get my number? I don’t- I don’t understand?’ </p><p>The woman on the other end of the phone sighed, ‘Emma, I’ve had your number this whole time.’</p><p>‘Huh?’</p><p>‘You literally gave me your number weeks ago.’</p><p>‘I didn’t- how could I?’ Emma furrowed her brow, confused.</p><p>How had the woman got her number? Had Shelby given it to her? Had she given it out on air and somehow forgotten? She couldn’t understand what was going on.</p><p>On the other end of the phone she could hear the crunch of gravel, as though the woman was walking somewhere, and Emma vaguely wondered where she did live, and where she was right now.</p><p>‘Look up Emma,’ said the woman suddenly, and Emma’s head shot up.</p><p>Was she here? In the park? Was she about to see the mystery woman for the first time? </p><p>She slowly surveyed the park, looking for literally anyone else on the phone.</p><p>There were mothers pushing babies in prams, a group of boys playing football and some teenage girls laughing at something on their phones on a bench opposite her, but no sign of anyone else.</p><p>Then, she spotted Alyssa rounding the same corner she’d disappeared round minutes earlier.</p><p>She began to panic. What was she going to do? </p><p>Here was Alyssa coming back presumably to tell her what she’d decided now she’d had time to think and Emma was possibly about to meet the mystery woman. At the same time.</p><p>She didn’t know what to do.</p><p>‘I- I don’t see anything?’ She said shakily down the phone, watching as Alyssa got closer.</p><p>She noticed, with a frown that Alyssa was also on the phone, and she briefly wondered who she was talking to. </p><p>She was probably complaining about her to one of her friends or something.</p><p>‘Emma,’ the woman on the phone said, ‘you’re literally looking right at me’</p><p>‘Huh?’ Said Emma. </p><p>She didn’t understand, all she could see was Alyssa, who was quickly getting closer and closer.</p><p>‘Oh my god,’ came the response, ‘either you need some new glasses or now you’re just being deliberately annoying’</p><p>‘I don’t- I can’t-‘ Emma tried, the pieces of whatever this puzzle was slowly coming together in her head, ‘all I can see is Al- HOLY SHIT.’</p><p>The woman on the other end of the phone laughed, and Emma watched as Alyssa did the same, throwing her head back as she did so, curls bouncing.</p><p>‘Oh my god, I- I’m an idiot,’ Emma said down the phone, wiping a hand across her face. </p><p>‘I mean,’ said Alyssa as she sat back down next to her, hanging up her phone as she did so, ‘I’m not saying anything’</p><p>‘It- it was you all along?’ Emma said in disbelief, things finally starting to make sense in her head. </p><p>Alyssa nodded, a small smile playing over her lips, ‘I can’t believe you fell for me twice Nolan!’</p><p>‘I just- I don’t- I don’t understand’ said Emma, wringing her hands together in her lap, ‘Oh god I’m so so sorry, you must think I’m so stupid’</p><p>‘Em, look it’s fine.’ Alyssa began, taking Emma’s hand in her own, ‘I’m a bit confused myself about how you didn’t realise it was me, I thought you knew the whole time, that’s why I kept the whole mystery caller thing up- I thought it was a kind of inside joke!’</p><p>‘You just- I guess you just sound different on the phone,’ Emma said shyly, playing with a button on her coat with the hand that wasn’t in Alyssa’s. ‘It was really you the whole time?’</p><p>‘Yes!’ Alyssa laughed, ‘Why did you think I was so shocked the first time you told me you were <em>the</em> Emma Nolan from the radio. I was so embarrassed! I’d been calling up and flirting with you for weeks!’ </p><p>Emma’s cheeks grew red, her eyes widening in shock, ‘So- so you were flirting with me?’</p><p>‘Of course I was!’ said Alyssa, ‘I- I’m not sure why, I guess, I just felt a connection to you as soon as I heard you on the radio, kinda like what you said earlier, and I knew that I wanted to talk to you and let you know how much you had helped me, even if it was just for two minutes on air.’ </p><p>Emma shook her head in disbelief.</p><p>‘And then after we went for that first coffee together, I thought you would realise it was me so I stopped calling in.’</p><p>‘And yesterday?’</p><p>Alyssa chuckled, a glint in her eye, ‘Honestly, that was too good of an opportunity to pass up. I just wanted to see if I could get you flustered on air, but I swear, I thought you knew it was me!’ </p><p>Emma groaned, rolling her eyes at herself in embarrassment, ‘Well, at least you got the desired response.’</p><p>Alyssa laughed and squeezed her hand gently, looking at Emma softly.</p><p>‘Oh my god,’ Emma continued, something dawning on her suddenly, ‘I heard you, on Dee Dee and Trent’s show-‘</p><p>It was Alyssa’s turn to turn red, ‘Oh no! I uh, I didn’t think you would hear that.’</p><p>‘You- you were talking about me?’ Emma said softly.</p><p>Alyssa sighed, ‘Yeah, yeah I was. I- I really liked you then, and I, well I really, really like you now.’</p><p>Emma giggled shyly, ‘Even after I’ve just made the biggest fool out of myself?’</p><p>‘Even after all of that. And honestly, I’m just glad that you aren’t actually having an emotional affair with some other woman!’</p><p>Emma grinned, leaning in and kissing Alyssa softly. </p><p>She went to deepen the kiss, but Alyssa pulled back, placing a hand on her chest to stop her from chasing her lips. </p><p>‘So,’ she said, fixing Emma with a stern glare that made her suddenly nervous, ‘should I ask you again?’</p><p>‘Ask me what again?’ Asked Emma, staring at her blankly.</p><p>Alyssa groaned, dropping her head into her hands, ‘Honestly, you’re lucky you’re cute y’know! Will you-‘</p><p>‘Yes!’ Emma cut in, laughing gleefully, ‘yes I’ll be your girlfriend!’ she said, pulling Alyssa into her lap and connecting their once lips again.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>‘Hey Nolan, wait up!’</p><p>Emma turned to find Shelby jogging after her in the parking lot, stopping so the other girl could catch up.</p><p>‘What’s up Gonzalez, good show?’ she asked.</p><p>‘Yeah,’ said Shelby breathlessly, shooting a wave at a car parked at the other end of the lot, that looked suspiciously like Kaylee’s again.</p><p>‘You gonna keep Kaylee waiting?’ asked Emma, a wry smile on her lips, ‘it’s so kind of her to keep getting up so early to drive you home!’</p><p>‘Wha- I,’ Shelby spluttered, ‘she’s just, uh, she’s been really helping me to get over Kevin.’</p><p>‘Uh huh,’ said Emma, her eyebrow raised, ‘if that’s what you’re calling it.’</p><p>‘No, Emma it’s not- I said I wouldn’t-,’ </p><p>‘Look Shelb, whatever’s going on it fine, I won’t say anything’</p><p>Shelby looked at her gratefully, turning her eyes to Kaylee’s car again with a small smile, ‘Thanks Nolan.’</p><p>There was a pause before she began speaking again.</p><p>‘Actually, I’ve got some exciting news for you!’</p><p>‘Oh yeah?’ Replied Emma, curious as to what it could be.</p><p>‘Yeah!’ Said Shelby, a grin on her face, ‘your mystery woman called up again tonight!’</p><p>‘Oh’ said Emma, surprised to hear that Alyssa had called again, despite saying she wouldn’t. </p><p>She couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed that she hadn’t been able to speak to her girlfriend on the show, even though she’d seen her a few hours before at dinner that evening.</p><p>‘Yeah,’ Shelby continued, ‘she wasn’t actually calling to get onto the show, she just wanted to leave a message for you.’</p><p>Emma furrowed her brow, ‘She did?’</p><p>‘Yeah, get this, she finally decided that she wanted to leave her name in case you wanted to call her back.’ Shelby said gleefully, a glint in her eye.</p><p>Emma realised what was happening and groaned loudly, ‘Oh no’</p><p>‘Yeah, and you’ll never guess what Nolan,’ Shelby said, a shit eating grin spreading across her face, ‘she said her name was Alyssa’ </p><p>Emma started to back away from Shelby slowly, moving in the direction of her truck ‘Oh wow, no way! That’s absolutely crazy! What a strange coincidence!’ </p><p>She laughed nervously, still backing away as Shelby advanced on her.</p><p>‘A very strange coincidence if you ask me Nolan. Care to comment?’</p><p>Emma glanced at her phone before looking back up at Shelby, ‘Um, uh, oh no, look at the time. I uh, I gotta run some errands so I probably should be um- oh look Kaylee’s waving for you.’ </p><p>She turned on her heel and quickly walked back to her truck, the sound of Shelby’s laughter following her all the way.</p><p>‘You’re never gonna live this down Nolan!’ She yelled after her, ‘I hope you know that!’</p><p><em>No</em>, she thought, smiling to herself,<em> I probably never will.</em></p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed!! I'll definitely be sad to leave this story behind, but I've already got another idea rattling round in my brain, so hopefully I can get that one started soon!</p><p>Thanks again for all your support, and please do let me know what you thought!!</p><p>Bye for now pals, and I hope y'all enjoy the movie on Friday (or have enjoyed it if you've already seen it!!). Come scream at me about it at the-dyad-group on tumblr if you want!!</p>
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